A New Page in the Book
by Happyboby the Author
Summary: A dark shadow has been cast over the Earth. The sun is gone, cast away by a black veil that covers the Earth. All beacuse of one sword, and a madman willing to sacrifice the world. Detailed summary inside.
1. World of Darkness

Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Calibur or any of its characters, nor am I making profit from them.  
A/N: Nor am I trying to picture maybe a story for SC III cough  
coughcrazymecough. Once again I am writing this near midnight, have a  
midterm tomorrow AND an English essay due the day after, I am weird.  
"When the days got you down, remember that monkey is there for you"  
oOOo

-Summary (Extended): A dark shadow has been cast over the Earth. The sun is gone, cast away by a black veil that covers the Earth. Humanity struggles, slowly and fuitily trying to band together, if not out of fear of what lurks in the dark, but out of necessity. Demons roam freely, preying on those brave and foolish enough to try and travel between cities and towns. Mercenaries, soldiers, anyone willing to fight are in high demand. It is only a matter of time though, before the darkness swallows the hearts of the most hopeful, and crush the last pieces of humanity. All beacuse of one sword, and a madman willing to sacrifice the world for his own deluded self. Only those who had hunted the spirit swords before knew of what was transpiring, and only they could ever put a stop to it.

This fic's gonna have some OOCness in some characters, as well as created characters. I can't give away any pairings as of now though.

Soul Calibur: A New Page in the Book

Chapter 1: World of Darkness

The world was cast into darkness. The demon blade Soul Edge had gathered into full strength thanks to its new wielder Raphael. NO blade could match the Soul Edge, even the mightiest sword, the Soul Calibur, succumbed to its dark force and began to grow an evil aura. No longer could anyone distinguish day from night, there was always dark clouds looming overhead to block out the sunlight. The only light came from lanterns and candles. A village was easily distinguishable by the tons of light coming from them. Many community's kept lanterns outside of each building to light the paths, and kept these burning at all times, yet this did stop the fear. Everyone in the world lived in fear. They were afraid of the hell legions that the Soul Edge had spawned. At the head of the Legion stood Raphael. No longer was he a human man, but now he was a twisted, mutated demon much like what was once Nightmare. His eyes where a menacing red glow from the pits of his skull. Each Legion stood six feet tall and their skin was a twisted, mutated flesh under their heavy plate armor that bore the symbol of Raphael. Their eyes glowed with a bloodlust beneath the black helms they wore. Each legion was connected directly to the Soul Edge as a fragment of its dark energy, allowing them to transfer the souls from their victims to the demonic sword and its owner. All around the world these legions marched and it seemed that the world and its inhabitants were doomed to live under the constant fear of Raphael attacking their town or village.

OI

Out in the far reaches of Korea stood a dojo. It was heavily fortified with ramparts and towers. It stood around truly formidable terrain of rough mountain landscape. This is where one of the few resistance factions took their final stand.

OI

Kilik stood on the west rampart in silence. Many of his students were doing well in their intense training, but the time they had was growing thin. Many agents from other factions reported to him that the enemy was drawing closer and loser to their fortified position. Roughly 400 legions marching towards their position. He had 250 students, and very few of them had completed their full training. Those that had helped speed the lessons for the others. One of his best students, Iataik, was preparing himself for the coming battle; he was just as aware as Kilik. Kilik sighed and headed for the dojo. He strode down the center of the large dojo observing his students. The youngest accepted into his dojo where fourteen. He took one last longing glace at his students hard at work. In the coming day, he might never see some of them again. He retreated to his bedroom so he could meditate on the matter.

OI

Iataik stood silently and focused. He held a long spear in both hands intently focused on it. The spear was pointed at a large block of marble. Many students gathered around to observe him and his example of how to express the soul through their weapons. Soon, Iataik's spear cackled with an unknown energy. Many students stood in awe as only those that completed their training could perform such a feat. Before anyone could blink, the marble block burst into thousands of shattered pieces. Iataik's spear had shattered the marble completely with one powerful thrust. He relaxed and stood in his usual combat stance. "One student at a time must face me, if you can get me into a life threatening move (ex. Getting a spear point in front of his face but stopping the thrust, sorry it's a tad bit unclear there) you pass the first exam, you can then learn the soul charge from Master Kilik. Be warned, I shall not go easy on you just because you are my peers." He smirked and grabbed a new weapon; he did not want to unintentionally skewer a student on his spear. One after another each student was sent back towards the main dojo with bruises from the constant assault from Iatiak's staff. After the last student was sent out with a large welt on his arm and leg Iatiak plopped onto the ground and sighed. Those he just tested were the next batch of skilled students, but none of them had managed to pass. He looked out the window and saw that the usual black clouds were even darker.  
"Bad omen." He whispered to himself. A storm was brewing from the west, no doubt following the legions of Raphael. Iataik picked himself up and replaced the staff he was using from his spear then marched silently to his room.

OI

Three days had passed since the last agent came bearing the bad news. None of the other factions could reach the dojo in the time that the legions were marching at. Those at the Hia Chin dojo were on their own.

OI

'They had purposely double timed their march to prevent any support.' Kilik though to himself. He sat at his desk planning some sort of strategy for the coming fight. From what the agent's information had gotten him wasn't much. The enemy numbers where about 500 now, two thirds were equipped with pole arms, the other third were archers.  
'Not good odds, not good' Kilik shook his head. No one in the dojo had ranged combat experience, that's why he had called for some sort of support. It was to late to flee the dojo. The enemy was to arrive the next day. Kilik glanced outside the window. It was raining hard, there was bound to be lightning and thunder. These did not bode well, it would make combat on the ramparts and elevated courtyard very slippery and dangerous. His four graduate students would each take control of one rampart and he would lead those in the courtyard. They would hold the courtyard until those on the ramparts retreat to the main building, then escape through the tunnel network under the dojo. A simple plan rather, but it just may work if the students stay focused and fight hard.

OI

Hundreds of feet fell in unison. At the head of the army stood the dark, twisted from of their master and leader. In his seemingly normal hand he gripped a large, jagged rapier that could only be the Soul Edge. The other hand was a razor sharp, deformed claw that could easily rend human flesh. He called a halt. From the top of the mountain pass the legions could see the faint flickering of hundred of candle lights from the inside of a castle and on the ramparts. Many of t he legions howled. It was a bloodcurdling howl that could easily deafen as well as frighten. Raphael stood at the head of his demonic army and spoke one word. . .

OI

"Kill"

. . .Then the legions charged. . .

End Chapter 1 A/N Hey, R&R but try not to all out flame plz, my writing has defiantly gotten better. I got chapter 2 almost ready to go, I just need to revise it a little and it'll be posted by tomorrow. Finally a story that I might actually finish. . . I'm getting tons of ideas for what might possibly a good plot for SC III. This story is based off Raphael's arcade ending. is #$&ing around with my format so everythings all messed up. I'm givin up and just leaving it as it is, I can't figure out how to do a good line separator without the damn thing getting all stupid on me


	2. The Last Heroes

Disclaimer: Me not own, you no sue me. A/N: Wow, I actually get a second chapter done and started on my 3rd!? It's a first! Well, hope you liked the first chapter. This story will jump around a bit so try and bear with it. R&R plz. I'll ignore any non- productive flames Side note: I kinda got inspiration from Lord of the Rings, the battle at Helms Deep. So try to picture that a little bit.  
  
Chapter 2: The Last Heroes  
  
Many stopped their training when they heard it. The demented screaming from the mountains. To make matters worse, Master Kilik and the graduate students rushed into the main dojo with grim looks. Quickly as they came in, they explained what was about to happen and soon the whole dojo was up in arms on the ramparts or in the courtyards. Each student new that they were bound to die sooner or latter. Before everyone where in there places cam the thunderous sound of hundreds of heavy footsteps coming from the mountains. The legions poured from the mountain pass (well, it's a small pass and there aren't that many legions, plus the dojo is small).  
  
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The initial onslaught came on hard. Hundreds of legions poured through the mountain pass at the would-be-fortress. The building was quickly surrounded and the sounds of fierce combat sang through the air. Screams of arrows hailing down and dying soon blocked out the clashes of weapons. Many of Kilik's students avoided the barrage of doom, but others were not as fortunate, and slowly had their souls drained away by the demonic arrows. Those that were fatally wounded lay on the ground pale with blank eyes, devoid of any facial expressions death often brought. Combat on the ramparts was more dangerous than the hail of arrows, but was easier for the students as they had better fortified positions. They fought hard trying to repel the scaling invaders by knocking them off the wall, but that tactic was quickly losing its effectiveness as more legions got onto the ramparts.  
  
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Iatiak fought hard to repel as many as he could and kill those that got through. They just seemed to keep replacing each other. He would run his spear through one, and another would pop up behind him. He would crack that ones skull with a quick blow to the head, but then the one he previously killed was standing there again. Finally it dawned on him. The regenerated themselves, they could not die. It was a pointless battle. "RETREAT TO THE COURTYARD!" He yelled at the top of his lungs as he struck a heavy blow to the side of an enemy legion knocking it off the wall. Those that could disengage and retreat to the courtyard did, as well as the other ramparts. Soon, a hail of arrows responded to the sudden retreat, killing more and maiming others. Enemy soldiers poured over the ramparts but were held back at the elevated courtyard where the entrance to the dojo was. Many wounded were brought inside while the others fought desperately. More arrows rained down, but were far less accurate then that last volley, only grazing one man. Suddenly the air got colder and the rain fell harder. A lightning bolt crackled and a large dark figure was briefly illuminated.  
  
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Kilik quickly identified the new adversary as Raphael. The figure leaped off the ramparts and landed with a thud onto the courtyard. A dark, sinister voice came from the figure. "Well, well. I finally found you little pests. I'll enjoy killing every last one of you and feasting on your flesh and BLOOD!" With the last word of his sentence, Raphael took a wide arc slash with the Soul Edge killing many of Kilik's students as well as some of his own. The battle suddenly got a lot fiercer as the remaining students began fighting desperately for their lives trying to hold as many back as possible. With each swing of his weapon though, Raphael scored kills. Soon, there were very few students left alive. The enemies had found another path into the dojo and began slaying those inside. They flooded throughout the dojo and the ramparts, but strangely none engaged those fighting in the courtyard. Soon, only Kilik and Iatiak and a few students were left to face the wielder of the Soul Edge.  
  
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"Let's make this a little game shall we?" Raphael stated with malice in his voice, "One on one, it's only fair rather than me killing you all in one swing. Come on, step up, meet death face to face!" Raphael circled them like a predator does with its cornered prey.  
  
"No one? Oh come on, you are boring me. You are supposed to be the leaders of the damned little fighters that keep interrupting my plans. I expected more from you little bastards." Raphael continually threw insults at them while circling. Kilik soon came with a grim plan. He had notice that there where very few enemy soldiers left on the ramparts and doubted there would be any on the other side of the wall. If he could buy them enough time, his students could probably get out of the dojo and make it out to the forest alive. They could then send a message to the one person who would truly know what to do. . .  
  
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Kilik whispered in low voice so only his students could hear. "When I start fighting Raphael, run. Run to the west rampart and head to the forest. Avoid being detected and make your way west. Go to Athens, I know someone their who can help. Just say that the old heroes must rally, and those that have passed their ways on must have their successors come. The one you are looking for is the warrior sent by the gods. That is all I can tell you, for if you say her name to the wrong person, it can cost many people dearly."  
  
"Oh, what's this? Trading death wishes to one another?" Raphael laughed. It was a deep, frighteningly evil laugh.  
  
"I shall fight you, I had years ago and I shall triumph." Kilik said as he stood in front of his students with the Kali Yuga ready for combat.  
  
"Fine then, let us dance." Raphael held the Soul Edge rapier in a combat stance. "Ah, just like the good old days when I was searching for this weapon." He reminisced to himself, but quickly paid for breaking his attention. Kilik nearly knocked him off the courtyard's edge with a strong jab to the chest. Soon enough Kilik and Raphael where quickly entwined in trading blows and counterattacks. The students quickly slipped away and ran as fast as the could towards the east rampart.  
  
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Iatiak ran like he never had before. Very few legions stood in their way, and those that did didn't stand for very long. When they finally reached one of the stairs for the rampart wall, several arrows screamed dangerously near his head. Iatiak had been spared, but two of his compatriots fell, the arrows lodged into their temples. They fell to the ground with sickening thuds and soon the arrows that where stuck in them began glowing red as they sucked the soul away from the body. Iatiak didn't stand their much longer and was quickly on top of the ramparts. Two other students followed his while one other fell to another set of arrows in his chest. He spotted the glint of armor off a candlelight in one of the rampart posts and quickly ran their to stop the snipers. Before he opened the door to the building, the last two students fell to the snipers. If he was to escape, they needed to be taken care of. He burst into the guardhouse and quickly rolled behind a crate as two arrows lodged themselves into the door. He heard the stringing of arrows and quickly jumped from behind the crate, slinging his spear at one archer and knocking down the other with a flying kick. Both didn't seem to regenerate but just to be sure, he beheaded them both and quickly looked for a way off the wall. After a few minutes of frantically searching he found a ladder that apparently some of the invaders used just outside the second door. Iatric took one last glance at the dojo and saw hundreds of the enemy soldiers pillaging their weapons. Thankfully, mostly all of the enemy was pillaging the dojo and gave him the opportunity to escape. Before descending the ladder the fight between his master and Raphael caught his eye.  
  
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Kilik was running out of energy. The battle was blazing fast, both of them exchanging blows on one another. This was quickly turning into a one sided battle. As Kilik was wearing down, Raphael kept going. It seemed like they had been fighting for hours and hours. He had to stay focused though. His mind had to be set on destroying the foe in front of him. . .  
  
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Raphael saw it. A blindside in Kilik's guarding. He smirked to himself and decided to play a little and wear him down. Finally he grew bored of playing cat and mouse combat and took the final lunge right into Kilik's upper chest. The Soul Edge plunged straight through Kilik and out the other side. Raphael smiled and began laughing as he drew the sword out of the had-been hero.  
  
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"NOOO!" Cried out Iataik. He could not have believed that his master, the mighty Kilik, had fallen. Something in him cried out to avenge his master, but another part told him to run as fast as he could, that his day of vengeance would come. The final instructions Kilik had whispered were forever etched into his mind at that moment. He was the last of those at his dojo. Thousands of thoughts shot through his head as he ran deeper and deeper into the forest. His mind was so clouded he didn't even realize that he had been running for hours through the seemingly endless forest. Finally he slowed and stopped himself. He was soaked from head to toe, and if anyone was to see him at that very moment, the would not have noticed that he was crying.  
  
~End chapter 2~  
  
A/N Well, hope you guys liked that one. Kilik fans I'm sorry but I got a nice plot twist planned later so don't bitch at me for killing him off because he just might come..*cough* erm, don't want to give too much away. Well, a tad bit of the next chapter focuses on another person, so it's a whole new scene, bet you can't guess who it will be. Oh, and before I forget, this is based maybe 2 years after the ending of SC2, that gives Raphael the time to cast the world into darkness and summon his hell legions yaddy yaddy yadda. R&R and I should have another chapter up soon! Oh, and if I misspelled Iataik a few times, try to ignore that thanks q:P 


	3. An Old, Old Face

Disclaimer: Once again. . . Me no own, you no sue A/N: Thanks for the *cough* 1 review and thanks to those that emailed me privately *cough*2*cough*, I have a plot twist planned (said to much damn), it's intentionally hazy plot but if it bugs everyone enough I'll fix it up in a few more chapters. MONKEY!!! oO_Oo  
  
Chapter 3: An Old, Old Face  
  
The long haired warrior stumbled slightly in the dim lit street. He was tired and sore, and his sword, armor, and haversack were becoming more of a burden each passing minute. Finally he found the local inn and stumbled in. The innkeeper was a little frightened by the traveling warrior, especially for the fact that he carried a rather large sword that would have unsettled most normal people that had little experience in the life of traveling warriors. "What can I do for ya' sir?" the Innkeeper asked after regaining a bit of his composure. "I. . . would like a room. . . and a meal would be nice too." The blonde man responded as he rested his zweihander against the wall. "Okay, that would be 20 gold pieces a night and that includes food." The innkeeper rummaged around under the counter and produced a key. "The key to room 21 sir, the room is upstairs." The warrior took the key and nodded his head in acknowledgement while placing the gold on the counter. He let out a heavy sigh as he picked up his weighty weapon and trudged up a set of stairs that creaked threateningly each step he took as if they were to collapse from under his immense weight. He was completely unaware of people that could have been in the nearby rooms as he trudged down the hall and unlocked the door to his room. It was an average sized room. The bed was only big enough for himself and there was a desk with a chair off to the corner of the room. Next to the bed was a nightstand that had a lantern burning away silently on top of it to light the room. The man propped his sword against the wall and began to carefully remove his heavy armor piece by piece. He sat silently on the bed examining his breastplate. It was so scarred from the countless battles he could no longer see his family emblem on it. The breastplate dropped to the floor with a loud clank as the blonde man was lost in his thoughts of the Soul Edge and its new wielder, Raphael.  
  
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"Siegfried, you're still in no condition to be leaving this bed!" A young girl proclaimed. "Sis! SIS! He's trying to leave!!! SIS!!!" the young girl cried out. Another yell echoed up the stairs. "Cass, just stop him. He's still weak."  
Cassandra sighed. She didn't want to accidentally hurt the man she was trying to cure. Siegfried almost made it to the stairwell but he collapsed. Cassandra dragged him back to the room and strained to get him on the bed. Siegfried groaned in pain as he fell onto the hard floor when Cassandra accidentally dropped him. "S. . .ou. . .l . . .E. . .d. . .g. . .e, need. . ." Siegfried mumbled in a delusional state. Even though his previous body had recovered to its old state, Siegfried still desired the blade. The Soul Edge had permanently seared a piece of itself into his soul. Now and then, Siegfried would mutter something about the blade or about eternal darkness. Cassandra's sister had found the fatally wounded human-demon known as Nightmare several years ago. She expected the demon to be carrying its fragment of the Soul Edge, but it wasn't. It was clearly obvious that someone had already defeated the monstrosity and stole the weapon. Her sister saw something in that wounded demon, someone that seemed faintly familiar to her. Against the wishes of her traveling companion, a ninja woman, she brought the demon back with her to Athens. She and Cassandra tended the wounds as well as prayed to the gods to restore the man to his old form. Their prayers had been answered and the creature known as Nightmare slowly became the man Siegfried once again. "Cass? I heard a thud." A blond woman asked as she stepped into the room. "Um. . .yeah! Everything is fine. . ." Cassandra tried to lift Siegfried again to cover her blunder. "So. . .phi. . .tia" Siegfried muttered again as he pointed to the blond woman. Sophita quickly was at Siegfried's side. "Yes, do you need anything Siegfried?" she asked in a soft caring voice. Siegfried motioned for her to bring him his zweihander that he named Faust. She hesitated, keeping his wellbeing in her thoughts. "Siegfried, the weapon is heavy, you shouldn't wield it right now, and you're not at your full strength yet."  
He groaned. He needed to feel the power of his old sword once more. He needed to go searching again. The burning desire for the Soul Edge would never die until he wielded it once more at its full potential.  
  
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Siegfried silently placed his armor aside and grasped the hilt of Faust. The room was too small to practice a few swings so he once again sat silently on his bed and examined the ancient blade. He hadn't used it ever since his days searching for the Soul Edge. He had left it in Sophita's care before the Soul Edge corrupted his mind. Siegfried stared at his old weapon and ran his hand down the flat of the blade. For being so ancient, it still retained its killing edge and its sturdiness. Finally, placing the blade against the wall, Siegfried changed into a new tunic and breeches before heading downstairs to the large dining hall.  
The dinning hall was simple in design, and wasn't even really a hall. It was several rounded tables placed around the room with chairs. A set of doors at the far end of the room led into the kitchen. Siegfried took a seat near the only two other people in the room, two mercenary that were too engrossed in gossiping to notice him. Siegfried listened in closely. ". . . You are so full of horse shit, you know that? None of those poor bastards could have escaped. The demon would have hunted them all down and killed em'." "You got a point man, but listen, with all that ruckus goin' on, one of em' might have gotten out." "Shut up, just shut up. That demon guy with his army is stompin' across the world makin' people sign fealty to him or die. I say we just try to get on his good side so he won't kill us." "Really, why would he single US out, he's only going after those people that hunted for the demon sword and you know that, he could give a damn about us or anyone else for that matter." "I'm not sure man, what do you think he will do once he kills them all? I mean, those people are the only ones who have a shot at killin' this guy. If the demon kills em' all, we aint got a chance in hell of seein' daylight again. . .hey, what the hell are you doin?" One of the men realized that Siegfried has been eavesdropping onto their conversation. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation." Siegfried replied coolly. "would you care if I joined in the conversation? There are some things I would like to know from the local gossip. . ." "Whoa whoa who! We ain't locals; we're mercenaries hire to protect this little town." Replied one of the men. "Of course, my mistake. . ." Siegfried replied "I just, would like to know if there were any rumors going about on the demon's activities or where it might be holding out." "Yeah, that bastards goin' on an all out rampage across Asia. He's crushin all them little resistance factions that think they can hold off his rise to power." "Rise to power? He's got the demon sword doesn't he? What could make him more powerful?" Siegfried proclaimed. "Well, rumors are that there are shards of another sword that will make him stronger, that's what I've heard. One of the big resistance factions had one of the shards buried underneath their little fort. The demon just squashed them like bugs." One of the mercenaries slammed his hand down on the table. "Just like that, like I was sayin' earlier, I doubt any of them poor bastards lived-"The other mercenary cut in, trying not to start another argument in Siegfried's presence. "I heard that the demon has a hold out in Spain. He's got all them nobles there cowering in fear, but he hasn't killed em' yet." "Thanks for the gossip." Siegfried said as he got up from his seat. Before he left the room he thought he heard one of the mercenaries utter under his breath. "Good luck, ya crazy bastard." Obviously one of the mercenaries was wiser than he looked, and Siegfried wasn't exactly being subtle with many of his questions. He quickly shrugged off that thought though.  
Siegfried forgot about eating and went up to his room. He would need rest for the long march the next day. He needed to find one of those supposed shards. Slowly, he began to draw his master plan to reclaim the Soul Edge and become its rightful wielder for all eternity. . .  
  
~End Chapter 3~ A/N: Well, thanks for the constructive criticism. This chapter should clear up a little bit of the haziness but not all of it stay tuned for the next chapter. I gonna make this one hell of a jumpy story.. 


	4. Shards

DISCLAMER!!! I don't own Soul Calibur 2 or any of its characters, but characters created in this fic are solely my property and no one else may use them. :A/N: Hello again peoplez and here is the next chapter, I'm to lazy to write anything more in this A/N so here is Kirby!   
  
Chapter 4: Shards  
  
Talim sat quietly on top of a large boulder. Three torches surrounded the large stone to that the young girl could see the surroundings. She came back to the spot frequently each day. The wind spoke to her everyday she sat upon that stone, but its message was all very fragmented though. The balance of nature was offset because of the eternal blackness. Talim tried to piece the message together. What she translated was that the wind spoke of three blades. The Soul Edge, the Soul Calibur, and there was now a third, fragmented sword. For a two week she sat and listened to the wind weave its broken lore, hopefully to gain some enlightenment on the eternal darkness. The third blade carried a different power than the other two swords. It harnessed the power of the earth, and its spirits rather than the soul of its wielder. Due to the untimely corruption of the Soul Calibur, this third blade would most likely be essential to restore the peace.  
  
"Wind. . . How? Where can I find this blade you speak of? Guide me, so that I may restore the rightful balance. . ." Talim uttered lightly. In response the wind picked up, and whispered lightly for only Talim to hear.  
  
"Scattered . . . find . . . demons . . . carry . . . shards . . . need . . . heroes . . . unite them . . . shards . . . into . . . the blade. . . . ." the wind trailed off once more.  
  
"How though!? How do I unite the shards when I find them? How will this sword help! ANSWER ME! . . . "No response came from the wind. It was through with its lore and left it's chosen one to set off on her own.  
  
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A young Chinese woman sat down upon what she thought was an old log, for her companion with the lantern got distracted and walked off to go check if there was something in the bushes. She sighed and saw the light slowly growing brighter as it came closer.  
  
"Well . . . what was it? An owl?" she mocked  
  
"For your information, you're being hunted; I would be more edgy if I were you!" A young Japanese man snapped back. "You're too carefree. Don't blame me if you one day stumble into a trap because you're always skipping along with nothing else on your mind!" he continued a verbal assault on the Chinese woman.  
  
"Oh shut up, I'm more aware than that, and for your information, I don't skip around, I prance!" She shouted back at him then sat back down with a snooty look on her face. The young man chuckled slightly to himself and sat down next to her.  
  
"I think there's a small town nearby. . ." the girl tapped her chin while thinking out loud. "And I'm not tired yet. Want to keep going and see if we can find an inn? It beats sleeping on the ground in makeshift crap tents." "Hey! My tents are not makeshift, their reliable and sturdy!" The young man snapped.  
  
"Then why does mine have a hole in it?" the girl retaliated.  
  
"Because you didn't wrap your sword up right and the tip tore it." He snorted lightly.  
  
"Oh be quiet Takaishi, wasn't my fault!"  
  
"Who's was it then?"  
  
"Come back to me on that once we get to an inn!" The Chinese girl winked as she suddenly jolted up and ran down the beaten path. "Xianghua! XIANGHUA GET BACK HERE!" he yelled and ran after her.  
  
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Talim pondered to herself upon her rock. The wind had not told her where to search. Finding these supposed shards would be quite difficult without any sort of hint of where they are. She sighed heavily and decided to try to consult the wind for the sixteenth time.  
  
"Wind, guide me to my goal. Show me the path so that I may tread upon it as you have asked. . ." she waited, mind as part of the wind itself.  
  
"Find the bearers . . . you shall know when you find one . . . "the wind gently whispered then dispersed.  
  
". . . Find the bearers. . ." she silently repeated. As if in reaction to her words, one of her elbow blades spun around on top of the rock. It stopped spinning and pointed to the north.  
  
"Is this the path? Am I to follow this guidance?" she softly asked once more.  
  
" Yessssssss. . . . "the wind dolled off.  
  
"Thank you wind. Empower me on my journey, for I shall do as you have asked!" Talim stated proudly. Then she slowly set about packing her belongings for the long roads ahead.  
  
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Xainghua collapsed onto one of the beds. All of her belongings carried in her bag were slung carelessly onto the floor. Takaishi, on the other hand. Lightly placed his shoulder-bag down and started taking out some of it's contents. He pulled out a rag and some unknown solution and placed it on a nightstand that had a small lantern lighting the room.  
  
"I am so beat. . ." Xianghau let out a loud yawn and stretched out on her bed while Takaishi unhooked a sheath from his sash and laid it upon the bed. He drew out an intricately designed blade with small lotus petals engraved down the flat sides. It was a beautiful sword, but was covered with some old blood that was never washed off properly.  
  
"That's a first, the almighty Xianghua walker of thousand miles, beat after a once mile hike over a flat, beaten road." The young man smirked as he set about cleaning off old blood stains from one of his katanas.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean!?" Suddenly Xianghua didn't feel all that exhausted.  
  
"I don't know, what it is supposed to mean?" the young man replied  
  
"Don't give me your mind game crap Takaishi! You just insulted me didn't you?!"  
  
"Xianghua, you're not in the position to be questioning me." Takaishi put the tip of his sword under her chin and stuck his tongue out childishly. In response, she slapped the blade away and fell back onto her bed.  
  
"Xianghua, do you know why I even bothered following you?" Takaishi asked as he sheathed the sword.  
  
"Um.because you were so attracted by me, one of such stunning beauty?" she flourished her hand and smiled.  
  
"Strike one, guess again." He stuck his tongue out playfully.  
  
"Because you were afraid to leave your village without my expertise to guard you?"  
  
"Wrong again, and for your information, I am as equally talented as you, so don't get so cocky." Takaishi said while pointing the tip of one sheathe at Xianghua.  
  
". . . Because you got so sentimentally attached to me while I was in your village that you just had to tag along?" she asked in a rather bored voice.  
  
"Well . . . at least it's partially right. I came along because once, I want revenge, two, because I was ordered by the village elder to come along on your quest, and three . . . umm . . . there is no three, never mind." The last part of his sentence came out quickly.  
  
"You mean that old geezer told YOU to tag along?" she sat up and looked at him puzzled.  
  
"Yes, I know how difficult your quest will be and you probably won't be able to face all the challenges alone." He replied as he propped his swords against one of the nightstands.  
  
"That's just great, an old man doesn't trust I can do anything by myself so he sends an immature "swordsman" to tag along who hasn't even helped yet." Xianghua rolled her eyes and plopped back down.  
  
"It's pointless to continue this conversation Xianghua, see you in the 'morning'." And with that, he laid down into his bed and closed his eyes. Xianghua looked at him from her bed, then blew out the lanterns and fell asleep as well.  
  
O======I==================================================  
  
Talim had found one shard. It was just a sliver, a bright yellow sliver. A long and excruciating battle with some strange, mutated were-boar just for a tiny glowing sliver. It could have been anything though, but something in the wind told her that it was a piece. After the fight she hiked, the wind told her too. The wind was relentlessly driving her onward. Soon she lost track of her surroundings, all she was aware of was the calling of the wind. Finally, Talim fell down exhausted. She took the time to survey her surroundings as best she could. It was grassland, for she heard the sound of the wind in grass. Tall grass, from what she could see with the light from her torch. She heard the trickling of a stream nearby. It seemed a good place to rest With her newfound awareness, she took time to survey herself as well. She was a mess. She was covered in blood and dirt. She was bruised and had many cuts along her body. Her clothes were in complete tatters, barely covering her. Talim sighed. She walked along silently following the sound of the stream. She had practically fallen into it once she found it, for there was a minor dip in the land. She set about making a camp. Using her elbow blades, she sheered some of the grass and dug a pit in the bank of the stream. Using flint from her bag, she started a fire in the pit with the grass she sheered. This would be her home for a few days while she rested, so it needed to be efficient and practical. After setting up her small tent and ate some travel rations she sat quietly looking at the glowing sliver. It was metallic; she found that out so far. One edge was extremely sharp, for she had cut herself on it. It was obviously a piece of a sword. She wrapped it up and put it away in her bag. She inspected herself again and sighed. "I need a bath." She said to herself. Her voice was hoarse, since she had not talked the entire journey. Talim went to the stream and shed off what remained of her clothes and ran her hands along her body, along her curves, seeking imperfections blotching her skin. She had grown, and she knew it. Finally she waded into the water. It was cool in the stream and it soothed her bruised skin. Silently, she set about trying to scrub away the blood and dirt with her hands.  
  
O======I==================================================  
  
Xianghua awoke first. Silently, not wanting to disturb her counterpart, she lit a lantern and turned it low so that it barely lit the room. She presumed he was asleep so she took the liberty to change out of her imperial uniform and into her more comfortable noble clothes. But her presumption was wrong, Takaishi was awake and was watching. He couldn't let an opportunity like this one get away, after all, he was a guy. Out of the corner of her eye, Xianghua saw a glint off what was presumably and eye half open.  
  
"TAKAISHI YOU PERVERT!" She shouted and started to relentlessly pound him over the head with a book she kept in one of her bags.  
  
"What!? I'm only human." He responded quickly hoping it would stop the relentless pounding.  
  
"Men, humph." Xianghua stopped her pounding and put the book away while Takaishi sat and rubbed his head. Xianghua pulled out some jerky and threw it at Takaishi. He took the food gladly and rummaged through his shoulder pack as well for his water flask.  
  
"Well, where should we go now?" He asked between bites.  
  
"Dunno." She responded with a full mouth stuffed with jerky and mochi.  
  
"Well, what did the elder tell you to find?"  
  
"I thought you were listening in . . ." Xianghua started to choke and quickly beat on her chest to try and force the food down. Once it was out of her throat she coughed.  
  
"You okay there Xian?" he asked, a tiny hint of concern in his voice.  
  
"I'm . . .*cough* . . . fine." she cleared her throat and took a sip of water and went back to eating. Takaishi wrapped up the rest of his food and put it away. He laid back on the bed and grabbed one of his blades, inspecting it.  
  
"Anyway, I thought you were listening it."  
  
"Nope, I wasn't there, I was stealing this sword." He grinned and went back to inspecting it. The elder called it the Muremasa; supposedly it had been in a samurai's collection for some time but had been stolen. After various trades and thefts, it had wound up in a small dojo of a tiny village out in the middle of nowhere, and now it was in the possession of Takaishi.  
  
"That's the little rogue I know." Xianghua grinned back. "Anyway, supposedly I'm supposed to head to Spain, that elder guy said this darkness" she pointed out the window. "Stems from somewhere there."  
  
"Sounds like a long hike, and we're where again?"  
  
"Along the Chinese border. . ."  
  
"Seriously!?" Takaishi had seen very few maps before, but he knew that it was a long way from China to Europe.  
  
"Yep, we have a long hike ahead of us . . . of course, you could back down from this and try to live somewhere in peace." She replied casually.  
  
"I already devoted myself Xian, I'm not going to back down. I want to prove myself as an Edgemaster, so I have to come along."  
  
"Edgemaster? Pretty ambitious aren't you?"  
  
"Ambitious but entirely possible." He snapped the Muremasa back into its sheath. Xianghua fed more oil into the lantern and the light grew. Faint lights from the lampposts outside shown through the window. In her crimson tunic, Xianghua looked downright eerie in dim lighting. Suddenly, a faint sound of armor clinking from outside the window broke the silence. Takaishi took a peek outside and immediately dropped to the ground.  
  
"Legions! Get down! We don't want to be seen." He urgently whispered. Xianghua dove to the ground just as a torch passed by the window.  
  
"Think they're looking for me?" she asked, not a hint of worry in her voice.  
  
"Probably. . ." he took a peek out the window. "Looks to me that it's a small scouting company, around ten of them, all using short swords. They all have light leatherish armor on."  
  
"We can easily take ten." She whispered eagerly as she pulled out her sword. "It's been so long since we fought something I think I might have forgotten how to fight." "You? Forget how to fight, doubt it." Takaishi crawled quietly to his side of the room and grabbed his katanas, strapping the Muremasa to his left hip and the Lotus blade to his back. "Shall we?" Xianghau nodded. "Yes, let's go!" and got up, bolting out the room heading for the exit, with Takaishi trailing after her.  
The street was dim, some of the lampposts had been doused, but still there was enough light to see and fight. Sound of men shuffling through the streets grew louder. Takaishi sat silently in the shadows next to Xianghua. Silently he concentrated on the footsteps and realized he made a miscalculation.  
  
"I think I might have made a bad estimate, form the sounds made by the enemy, it sound like twenty, either that, or someone is stupid enough to be out walking with demons wandering the street." Xianghua tapped her chin lightly and said, "I doubt that, twenty may be slightly riskier. . ." Suddenly a loud grunt sounded from their left. A torch flew threw the air and landed near the two's hiding spot, casting away the shadow and putting them in plain view. The Legion let out a loud war cry and soon all of its comrades came crowding into the street with weapons out. Takaishi's new estimate was more accurate, there were about twenty demon soldiers. One of the demons, obviously the company's leader, with a large hornlike spike protruding from its helmet, pointed to Xianghua and let out a loud grunt. One smaller legion came forward and attempted to grab Xianghua's leg. It was met with the Krita-Yuga's tip in its skull. It let out a long dying squeal that aggravated the rest of its companions, who then let out another war cry and ran forward at the two assailants.  
  
O======I==================================================  
  
Both of his katanas were out as he stood in a combat position. Xianghua was equally prepared with the Kritta-Yuga out. She nodded to him and he started his attack. Like lightning, Takaishi leapt from his position, slamming the Muremasa into the back of the legion's skull in mid- air. The next fell when he landed, its throat expertly sliced open with the second blade. Xianghua leapt into the air as well, landing next to a legion and gracefully slashing its belly open as she moved onto her next victim. Takaishi skewered two more with each blade as they tried to surround him. Xianghua was gracefully dodging and parrying her way towards him. He felled three more with quick slashes from both blades before Xianghua arrived and killed off the last four. Wiping off their blade, both fighters let out a sigh of relief. None of the attackers had made it out alive to report their locations.  
  
"That was a nice break in the peace." Takaishi said while stretching. He only sustained one cut, but it was a minor graze. Xianghua, on the other hand, wasn't even touched.  
  
"You got a nice nick on your arm there." She playfully pointed out.  
  
"I got it after I killed one of those things. The bastards still want to fight even when they're dead." He kicked one of the bloody heads of a fallen legion. "Real persistent bastards. . ." he trailed off, noticing a yellow glint from the inside half-helm of one of the legions that's head was into two.  
  
"Xianghua, look at this." He knelt down and picked up the piece from inside the creature's cleaved head. It was rather large, looking to be like the tip of a sword. . .  
  
"Where did you find that Takaishi?" she asked, kneeling down beside him.  
  
"Where do you think?" he replied sarcastically. In response, Xianghua snatched the shard out of his hand and inspected it.  
  
"Well, it's glowing with a yellow aura, maybe it's a piece of something important. Looks like sword shard to me, like the ones from Soul Edge a long while back . . . No way, there's no way this can be a shard to another sword, you think?" she turned to face him.  
  
"Think? Think what? What use is a sword if it's broken into little bits?" he responded.  
  
"Well . . . I don't know. If it is like the Soul Edge, there must be a good reason why it's broken into little bits . . . if it isn't, well, then it's just a sliver of metal, I guess."  
  
"What makes you think it has to be a sword, for all you know it could be a dagger, or a halberd blade."  
  
"Don't suddenly start to know what you're talking about Takaishi, I think it's best we leave this matter for another day, we should tend to that wound of yours." She smiled at him, which, for that moment, was quite uncharacteristic of her, then wrapped the shard up in a piece of cloth.  
  
"Xiaghua, it's just a little scrape! There is nothing to worry about!" He exclaimed. "I don't need you to take care of me like I'm a little kid, we're the same damn age!"  
  
"Takaishi, it could be infected, or the enemy could have poisoned their blades, ever think of that? I don't want you to just suddenly drop dead when we're hiking." Takaishi sighed, she was right. The enemy would go to virtually every length to kill an up riser. Poisons were just a little trick in a long growing list of foul deeds. Silently the pair walked back to the tiny inn, leaving behind a litter of corpses lying in the street. In his mind, Takaishi couldn't take his mind off Xianghua, or her sudden change in character. As hard as he tried, her image was stuck in his mind. He recalled words of his previous masters, though they were all from different sword schools, they all said the same thing. Keep all emotions but rage in. Rage and anger must flow freely. Most of all, stay away from any sort of relationship, as they cloud quick judgement.  
  
"I'm not in a relationship, she's just a friend our feelings are mutual. . ." he mumbled as the words echoed in the depth of his mind.  
  
End chapter 4  
  
A/N : So ends the chapter I spent a month working on a little bit every night at 1 am. FF keeps messing with my format, once gain I say skrew this after hours of editing my fic trying to get each quote on it's own separate line to make the dialogue easier on the eyes. Hope you enjoy, plz r&r, blah blah blah. . . really tired, I'll be asleep when you read this. . . now 


	5. Conspiracies

Disclaimer: I dunt own Soul Calibur, or any of it's characters. I am not making any profit off this story. HOWEVER, MY characters are solely MY property. Dunt use them without asking, or a big gorilla will come to your house and pound you into a little mushy blotch onto the floor. The gorilla is watching you . . . behave, or else.  
  
Chapter 5: Conspiracies  
  
Darkness gloomily loomed over a small tower out in the plains of what is now known as Russia. Lights faintly flicked through the stain glass windows. Each window had a picture of a blade wielding man or woman performing an act of valor. At the top of the tower, through a small window, one might see an odd man pacing around.  
  
"Lord, is everything in place?" A man standing in the looming shadows asked.  
  
"Yes, yes, everything is good. I have the girl off to collect the shards. Is William in place?" the pacing man responded.  
  
"Yes Lord, I specifically told William, many many times, to stay at the crossroads until the girl came by. He has the lines of what he is to say written on his arm so he can go over them. I think I can trust him to follow these orders at the least. Hopefully he won't get distracted and run off again like last time . . ."  
The pacing man stopped a moment, as if contemplating, his face half covered by shadow. For a moment, the man showed his true age, but only briefly before returning to his stern disposition.  
  
"James, I am getting to old for this, and I have not found one to replace me yet. William would make a good choice . . . but you know him, a little slow to thought-"he tapped his temple, "-even though he is quite strong and skilled, he needs a lot more brains to take this job." The man went back to pacing.  
  
"Edgemaster, might I suggest one of them?" the shadowed man pointed to a large amount of blue, glowing glass shards.  
  
"James, you know I've thought of that, but many of them are inexperienced, and I am trying to be specific in my choosing." The old man glanced at the shards on the table.  
  
"Lord, I was just trying to make a suggestion. If you must be so picky, you might never find a successor. You should just find one soul that fills at least partially all the needs for the title of Grand Edgemaster, rather than finding the perfect person." The shadowed man shrugged.  
  
"Perhaps . . . but for now, we must keep to the task at hand, getting sunlight back into this damned world. I want you to double check on William, make sure he hasn't wandered off again." And with that, the man in the shadows bowed and disappeared.  
  
"Perhaps the boy is right, time is ticking too fast for my liking, and I should find a successor soon." He mumbled lightly to himself, and then started to descend the tower to his quarters.  
  
O======I==================================================  
  
Talim screamed so loud she later swore that it echoed off the mountains. She had been bathing when a rather large, masculine man wandered into her small campsite and rummaged around before noticing her. What surprised her, was the man screamed back almost as frightened as she was. Quietly she stood with water up to her chin, staring at a bulky man that was staring right back at her from the shoreline. It seemed like eternity before the man spoke.  
  
"Hiyu, I'm Weelium." The man waved to Talim, who was stupefied.  
  
". . H. . .h . . . Hello, um. . . William?" Talim stuttered, completely confused.  
  
"You scareded me when you screamd." The ogerish man beamed a toothy smile. Obviously the man lacked intelligence. "You taking bath?" he asked, almost innocently. Talim blushed, but the light was dim so it was unnoticeable.  
  
"Yes, now if you don't mind, can you leave my camp so I can clean off?" she said patiently, not wanting to be rude to someone who obviously had the brain of a five year old.  
  
"Okies, I'll be over der-" he pointed to a rock dimly lit by the firelight. "bye bye girly." He waved backwards while walking. Talim stood in the water a bit longer, completely confused and surprised.  
  
O======I==================================================  
  
"So, your name is William?" Talim asked quietly.  
  
"Yup, that be me, I be William!" the man seemed gleeful that she remembered his name. Talim invited him back to her small camp after she had put her clothes back on. He seemed even bigger up close, standing nearly seven feet tall. His face held many expressions, but the one expression that shone was open stupidity.  
  
"I'm Talim, a traveler, what do you do, William?" she asked while handing him a small cup of warm water.  
  
"Um. . .-" he glanced quickly to his left arm. "I be a traveler too. Me looking for these wittle yellow sliver tings for the wind, its tells me things." He said while pulling at a glowing sliver, almost identical to Talim's. Suddenly Talim was intrigued.  
  
"The wind told you to collect those?" she asked.  
  
"Yup. Me've only found one tho." He sipped some of the water and spat it out, sucking in cool night air for his burned tongue. Talim could only giggle. "I think I can trust you William, you're an okay person." She said with a smile.  
  
"Ah tinnk ah lahke ou tuu" he said while waving air onto his tongue. Talim only giggled more as he tried to speak without use of his tongue. The big man let off a big, stupid grin, and took another sip of water, repeating the same process over again. Talim sighed and changed his cup with hers, since she let it cool off.  
  
"William, I should be getting to bed. . ." she yawned. "I'm tired from the hike I had today, where are you going to sleep?" she asked with concern.  
  
"Ground, I like the ground. It's all comfy, and de grass is all soft." He ripped out a large hunk of the tall grass and fashioned a makeshift pillow. "And I always have Cracker wit me, make me safe." He grabbed hold of something in the grass and slowly tugged it out. Talim's eyes grew in astonishment as William pulled out a blade bigger and wider than she. It looked beautiful to her. It had a sky blue tinting, a serrated cutting edge, it's hand guard gemmed with rubies and emeralds, the pommel looked balanced and comfortable, and the end of the hilt was a cruel looking spike. It looked even larger than a zweihander, almost doubled in size.  
  
"You can fight with that!?" she asked, astonished. For a man to wield a blade like William's, they would have to be incredibly strong and have great stamina not to be drained after one swing.  
  
"Yah, Master trained me with it, and gave it to me when I became a berserker status."  
  
"Who is your master?"  
  
"I not supposed to tell. . ." William opened his mouth and yawned wide, "Me tinks big hush hush secret . . . no tell nobody. . ." he dolled off into sleep.  
  
"Hey, umm. . . William?" Talim reached out and tapped him. He didn't  
even flinch. Once again, William managed to baffle one more person.  
Talim took a sideways glance at the burly man and looked at his face. 'He looks so peaceful and innocent.' she thought, reflecting on how William wore child's smile while he slept. Silently she doused the fire and slipped into her small tent. Unknowingly to Talim, a man lay still in the tall grass, watching them go to bed before slinking off into the darkness.  
  
O======I==================================================  
  
"Takaishi! Where are you goin'!?" Xianghua shouted after him while he bolted down the street.  
  
"Someplace, just hold on and stay put." Takaishi shout back as he slipped off into the gloomy darkness of the town.  
  
"*sigh* hope he doesn't get himself killed." Xianghua leaned against wooden wall next to her sword that was also propped against the wall. Slowly her thoughts drifted around the shard that she and her companion Takaishi found the other "night" when they were attacked by Raphael's little minions. Takaishi had insisted that he go and scout the town for any more minions since he was the supposed "master of stealth" out of either of them. Xianghua took a glance around the street and noticed people starting to come out once again to the market now that Raphael's minions were disposed of. She smiled to see that life was returning slowly. Suddenly she felt slight a tug on her shorts. Glancing down she saw a little asian boy looking up at her smiling.  
  
"You kill de bad bads didn't you!" said the child, who seemed no more than six. He was wielding a fearsome looking twig (or so he thought). Xianghua could only smile at the little boy and crouched down so she was head level with the boy.  
  
"Yes, me and my friend killed the 'bad bads'. The town is safe." She smiled again.  
  
"I woulda helped but my mommy wouldn't let me go. I wanted to help!" The little boy swung his twig making it whip through the air.  
  
"Well, your mommy made the right choice. When you get older, and you train, you could be a good warrior." Xianghua ruffled the little boy's hair once.  
  
"Really? You tinks so!? Me?" The little boy got excited and ran off to go tell his mommy. Xianghua just stood up and leant against the wall with her hands behind her head waiting on Takasihi.  
  
O======I==================================================  
  
Iataik stood silently propped against his rusty spear. He had no clue where on earth he was, he only knew that he was far, far away from the dojo he grew up in. Dirty, beaten, and tired, Iataik had to keep dragging forward. The storm of vengeance drove him on even when his body said no. Each muscle screamed for him to stop and rest, but he was like a zombie, so intent on his mission until he finally collapsed from exhaustion. He had just recently awoken from his last black out to utter darkness. After traveling for so long in the dark, his eyes had adapted to it, and he could see roughly fifteen feet ahead of him clearly without a torch. He continued a steady march and found the ground going softer and the presence of more pebbles than usual. Instantly he knew he was on a road. He glanced around and saw a tiny light approaching his left, with the sounds of a wagon or cart coming from the general direction. The light got brighter. . .  
  
O======I==================================================  
  
Screams told Xianghua that things where not going alright in town. Apparently Takaishi had found more enemies still roaming and engaged them. Xianghua bolted down the many streets following the sounds of clashing steel. Already she started passing mutilated bodies of both legions and townsfolk. Finally she founded a curb and found Takaishi decapitating a legion that rushed forward at him. Around him lay a ring for dead legions that were apparently to mindless to try anything new.  
  
"Takaishi you dolt!" she screamed at him.  
  
"What?" he asked innocently as he wiped crimson off his blades.  
  
"You started the party without me! I can't believe you! You didn't even leave ONE for me!" she continued ranting but Takaishi paid no heed. Instead he focused on trying to clean his blades off.  
  
"Are you even listening to me!?!!?!??!" Xianghau practically screamed in his ear. Some of the braver townsfolk came out of hiding to see the scene going on and to collect the dead. Suddenly a cry broke Takaishi and Xianghua's playful teasing. An old woman lay crying over the body of a little boy. The boy's head was cracked inward, blood still flowing from the wound. Xianghua recognized the corpse as the little boy who she inspired. In his hand, he still bore the same twig she saw. This image imprinted itself permanently into her mind. Both Takaishi and Xianghua strode over the old woman and crouched near the body. The woman paid no heed to them and continued mourning the little boy.  
  
"We are sorry for your loss, ma'am-" Takaishi started, but was quickly cut of by the old woman.  
  
"You! You! You! It's all your fault! Both of you! Especially that GIRL!" She screamed, pointing delusional at Xianghua.  
  
"You! If you didn't tell him he could be a warrior, he wouldn't have gone outside and died so painfully-"she was cut off by Xianghua.  
  
"Shush! First of all, what I said was right! I believed the little boy-"  
  
"His NAME was Xien, you disrespectful bitch!" the woman interjected. Soon, the argument was drawing a crowd.  
  
"Listen lady, we just saved this town, you all could have been burned to the damn ground, but we risked-"  
  
"-Takaishi, silence." Xianghua turned to the woman, "Listen to me! It doesn't matter WHOSE fault it is. Xien is dead, and the focus now is proper and an honorable burial for him." Xianghua knelt down beside the body and began inspecting the blow to the head. All the while, the woman tried to claw at Xianghua, but Takaishi kept her back.  
  
"At least he didn't suffer, like what most the monstrosities do to people. It was a swift butt blow to the head, didn't feel a thing." Xianghua gestured to a mutilated corpse.  
  
This made the woman break down and cry. Soon, the townspeople clean out the remaining dead. Takaishi almost had to drag Xianghua away from the scene back to the inn. In their room Xianghua stood silently next to Takaishi, not shedding a tear for any of the dead. They spoke not a word to each- other, and just stood side by side. Silently Takaishi put his gloved hand on Xianghua's shoulder and nodded, silently conveying a message that they needed to move on. Xianghua turned her head and smiled warmly at Takaishi. They had a long road ahead of them.  
  
O======I==================================================  
  
Talim awoke to the smell of cooking fish. She was almost instantly out of her tent just from the smell. She glanced around and a torch along the bank of the stream. From the torchlight she was William standing in the stream with a bow and quiver, occasionally shooting an arrow at what was most likely a fish. She smiled. No longer she was alone. She had found someone to travel with. William looked up and waved at her frantically with his trademark big stupid grin. Talim felt an odd draft, and suddenly realized that she never had changed clothes after her bath. Blushing, she dropped back into her tent and rummaged through what small possessions she had for a new set of clothes. By the time she was out, William had dragged back a large amount of fish, and was already roasting more.  
  
"Hiyuz!" He smiled and waved, "How many fish you want?"  
  
"Just two please." Talim said and took a seat next to William at the bonfire.  
  
"Hey William, I was wondering, if you . . ." she stopped talking and stared in awe as William started eating. She just sat and stared at the pace he was eating. Occasionally he would even swallow a whole fish. This both fascinated and sickened Talim.  
  
"Huz?" he managed to say with a stuffed mouth.  
  
"Um. . . nevermind William." She said and then started eating the cooked fish that he left on a pad of clean grass for her. Together they sat eating fish by the bonfire while a dark man lurked in the shadows behind. Talim all of a sudden got a tingling feeling down her spine and looked over her shoulder, but nothing was there from what she could see with the bonfire's light. Talim shuddered.  
  
'Now I'm getting the creeps' She thought to herself.  
  
The man watching the girl known as "Talim" slipped off into the shadows, with him a very well drawn sketch of the girl and a copy of conveyed orders for the giant man William, which he left in his bag. Something was amiss, and no one suspected a thing.  
  
End  
  
A/N: Well, I've been workin on this one periodically, and I got the next chapters plot up and running, but havne't written it yet. I should change the title and genres to A&A/ Romance because I got some pairing coming up. 


	6. A Glimpse into Darkness

Disclaimer : I don't own Soul Calibur, Soul Calibur 2, or Soul Edge, those are property of Namco. I make no profits from these stories, so back off! I dunt own the SC characters, but I own mine, and if you rip my characters off, I will hunt you down personally. Yeah you, I'm watching you, with both of my one eyes 0_?.  
  
Chapter 6 : A Glimpse into Darkness  
  
"Yes Luciler, what is it?" a deformed man asked bored from his throne.  
  
"Milord, upon your humble and gracious request, I have brought the girl's sketch in as well as the orders for the giant." The man presented a small booklet and a piece of rolled up parchment that one of Raphael's servants took.  
  
"Very good Luciler, very well done. I'm surprised you found them, who would have known Edgemaster is in on our little fun." Raphael stood and clapped his hands slowly while walking towards Luciler.  
  
"Milord, the request I made . . . will it be fulfilled?" the shady man asked in a snide voice.  
  
"Yes Luciler, of course. . ." Raphael sat back down on his throne and made a very subtle movement with his arm. To those trained in the art of backstabbing, this body language was a signal, no doubt. Sure enough, a crossbow bolt slammed into the back of Luciler's skull, the tip protruding from the front of his skull, killing the unsuspecting man instantly and pouring his blood onto the marble floor.  
  
"Your request, Luciler, was foolish. Me, giving a mere mortal a scrap of my realm for such a miniscule chance? I think not. All you humans are alike, little rodents running around MY world. MINE. The world that I keep safe for Anna. Oh my beloved Anna!" Raphael rambled on, talking to the corpse of his former agent. The demon didn't notice another one of his agents slip in. The tall, lanky man was hardly distinguishable as he appeared to be a mere shadow cast off from the torchlight.  
  
"My lord. . . when you're done rambling?" the man said in a low, malevolent voice.  
  
"WHAT is it Rajeid?" Raphael snapped at his top infiltrator. The man stood in a half bow while reporting.  
  
"My lord, I have convinced the Brotherhood of Dark Eyes to join us. That adds fifty more spies and assassins to our rosters. If you wish, I can have them head off on missions right away to take out the 'pests' as you say, my lord. I have also assassinated one of the Dukes as ordered" As he finished speaking, the lanky man stood back up and removed his hood. His face was wrinkled and his head was bald. He looked like an old man, if you got past the fact that he had an emerald imbedded into his forehead as a third eye.  
  
"No, that's not necessary right now Rajeid, right now. I have a special mission for you, one that requires your . . . expertise and perfection." Raphael returned to his seat, stepping on the corpse of Luciler on his way. "Right now I could care less about more agents, I need more men on patrols around the more rebellious areas, and I do believe that the mercenaries that want to join the legions aren't going to do that quite as efficiently as my 'soldiers'. We could call for a roundup from nearby villages and corral them all here for corruption, or we could bring it to them, wiping out their villages . . . it's either let them offspring and offer, or kill them all."  
  
"What ever your wish is, my lord, I will convey the orders." Rajeid bowed again.  
  
"Lets kill them all!" Raphael shouted, malice in his voice, "No one from the villages should live, take the best of my little zombies, harvest the souls, turn there corpses into my newest minions! OH, and Rajeid, go along with stage three will you?" Raphael laughed cruelly as his agent left to convey the orders to the head commanders.  
  
"All for you beloved Anna, all for you! The world is a safer place! No more mongrels running around, squabbling over there petty differences! I have united the entire world under me! I have the most powerful weapon known. I have cast the world into darkness, making all who oppose me cower in fear! I have everything, and it's all for you. . . Anna, my daughter!"  
  
O======I==================================================  
Iatiak awoke in a small hut. He was in a small, hard bed that had little comfort. He tried to prop himself up on his elbow but fell back in pain. He had blacked out again, as far as he could tell, and this time something bad happened. With the little light he inspected himself as much as possible. His chest had a bandage, and his left arm had a sling, and he couldn't feel his left leg, either.  
  
"Better sit tight there." A young woman's voice came a dark corner.  
  
"Who are you?" Iatiak asked feebly.  
  
"My name is Seung Mina, and judging by your gi-"the young woman came from the shadows holding his now clean gi, "- I'd say you're from Kilik's dojo." Iataik merely nodded, the pain from his wounds were coming back. The woman put his gi down on the edge of the bed and took a seat near by. In Iataik's mind, he remembered all the stories from his former master, Kilik, about his travels, and also his description of the woman he now faced, Seung Mina. She appeared as he described her, tall, flowing brown hair, a succulent body . . . well, Kilik didn't exactly say that, but from the way he had described her, and the way he acted when he did, Iataik could tell that Kilik didn't just think Seung Mina was an ordinary girl.  
  
"Hello? You awake there?" the girl asked with some concern.  
  
"Sorry, I was . . . thinking." Iataik trailed off again, slowly piecing everything together.  
  
"Do you know Kilik?" The girl prodded.  
  
"Yes, he was my master." Iataik said and rubbed his now hurting forehead. Now he was getting a headache. He quit trying to think of which parts hurt and tried to figure out which parts of his body DIDN'T hurt. Seung Mina's expression lightened a bit towards him.  
  
"Any news of Kilik? Is he okay?" She seemed hopeful, and Iataik didn't want to crush the young woman's heart, but answered anyway.  
  
"Master Kilik died. He was fighting that monster, and he lost . . ." He scanned the woman's face for some emotions, but saw none. It was like a steel mask, unreadable. Seung Mina stood up and left the hut, but Iataik could hear her crying softly through the whicker walls.  
  
O======I==================================================  
Seigfried strode along the lit path. Every now and then, travelers would steal a glance at the blonde man hauling his massive weapon on his shoulder. The path he was on was known as the Pilgrimage Road, since mostly everyone used it. It was one of the few highways left that people actually traversed. Armed caravans and lone mercenaries often wandered along it, going from city to city looking for trade or work. He felt a strong presence emanating from a town along the road and followed the feeling. It was a quiet little town, much like all the others. Mostly everyone stayed indoors for fear of demons that roamed the night. The few people around the town were mercenaries and small town watch patrols that wouldn't stand a chance against a full blown demon. AS Seigfried got closer to where the source was emanating from, the yellow shard in his bag started to glow, and at this point, it was shining so bright, the light could be seen from inside the satchel. Seigfried took it out from it's wrappings to examine it. The shard pulsed in his hands, and seemed to try and leap towards the building in front of him, the town inn. A few of the mercenaries took a look at Seigfried and his newfound light-source, judging him in their minds and assessing that he wasn't worth picking a fight with. One person that noticed him, however, did not judge or measure him up. It was a young blond woman, who seemed vaguely familiar to Seigfried. Then it struck him, it was one of the girls from his flashbacks, Cassandra. The girl was sitting on a bench in front of the inn, and Seigfried approached her.  
  
"Cassandra Alexandria?" Seigfried asked softly, trying to seem too awkward.  
  
"Seigfried, Seigfried Scheuffen? Is it you?" she asked softly, her eyes red and puffy. Seigfried merely nodded and put his weapon and bags down.  
  
"We looked for you, Seigfried, after you left. Sophie was worried about you. We looked for a year and gave up to come back home. At the shrine when we got back, there was this-" she held up a small, yellow, pulsing shard like Seigfried's, "-on the shrine. The prophets said it was a bad omen from Hephaestus." She fiddle with the shard between her fingers, "That's when everything went dark, Seigfried, the day after we got back. Sophie fell ill that day as well." Seigfried tried to sit on the bench, but his armor hindered him so he just leaned against the Inn's wall.  
  
"Athens was burned to the ground" Cass said quietly, "Rotheon tried to save as many people as he could, but he died in the fires, as well as most the children. Sophie hasn't been the same since. We're the last of our family." Cass was reduced to whispering, trying to sob in front of Seigfried.  
  
"Cassandra, where is your sister?" Seigfried asked softly, not wanting to stir up any crying from the young woman. Cassandra pointed out the Inn that they were staying at.  
  
"Room 12, no need for a key. Just try and be gentle with what you say." Cass walked off, wiping small tears from her eyes as she reminisced.  
  
O======I==================================================  
  
Takaishi lay sleeping on the ground next to the burnt out fire pit. Barely any light seeped through the tent he gave to Xianghua after hers had completely ripped open. He tossed and turned a bit on the ground before finding a comfortable spot and started to doze off again. Xianghua sat in the cramped tent, overlooking a small map in the lantern light. She had been slowly mapping their positions over the journey and they were approaching the Pilgrimage Highway. From the Highway, they would go northwest into Russia and then head west from there. They had to get to Spain, but that was a long ways away, most likely months or a year to get there. It was either that, or head to the proclaimed "Tower of Heroes" and see if there are mounts there, even though horses became a rarity since the great darkness spread. What puzzled Xianghua was that they hadn't encountered a demon yet, despite that they were moving off path at a relatively slow pace. Most of the lesser demons that spawned from the darkness prey off of off-road travelers. Suddenly, this reminded Xianghua that it was safer with a fire than with a lantern, and they were burning the last of their oil up. She crawled out of the tent and almost over Takaishi if she hadn't run into him head first when exiting the tent. Takaishi continued to sleep even though Xianghua practically head-butted his spine. He let out a small grunt and rolled over onto his other side, mumbling in his sleep. Xianghua finished getting out of the tent and just sat in the darkness a moment, looking into the fire-pit with its glowing embers.  
  
"Some day I'm just going to sit down and reflect on everything." She whispered to herself, "Sometimes, this just too overwhelming. It's not the darkness, it's just this feeling of dread and emptiness day in and out, if I can even call it a day." She threw some nearby wood and oil that Takaishi left out into the pit and watched as the logs caught fire. She sat, content on hearing the fires crackling call and the flame's graceful dance across each un-burnt log. Sometimes, she wishes that she was just a normal girl, not the expert swordswoman she was. She wished that she never happened across the Soul Calibur, or the Soul Edge. It was that inner darkness, that festering blackness of doubt. As she sat, watching and reflecting upon the fire, the blackness grew, and doubt flowed through her mind. Xianghua took a fleeting glance at Takaishi, illuminated by the fire's glow. The small, comfortable smile on his face made Xianghua feel something fuzzy inside. She couldn't explain it at all. The darkness in her mind crept back to its festering wound, and doubt diminished. As long as she stayed with Takaishi, Xianghua wouldn't doubt her life, her skill, or her emotions again.  
  
O======I==================================================  
  
A lanky shadow slipped along the castle walls, scaling it slowly. No torches gave the shadowy stalker away as it climbed. It reached the top of the wall and slit two guard's throats and silently stole the keys to the guardhouse after disposing of the bodies. The shadow unlocked the guardhouse door, and then tied up the keys with twine so that they wouldn't make a sound before slipping into the doorway. Another guard died with a slit throat, not a scream was uttered. With the body stuffed into a large bag and slung into a dark corner, the shadow descended the stairwell into the castle courtyard. The usual guard patrol rounded the corner as timed, and found a throwing dagger in his throat. Quick as lightning the shadow bound the guard's mouth as he screamed and pulled out a small twine rope with a small hook on it from its small shoulder bag. Silently whirling the grappling hook the shadowed man moved to a position near a balcony. The grappling hook latched perfectly onto the balcony rail and the shadow scaled the wall once more. The shadow climbed into the room and found the noble sound asleep. Again, not a scream of death and agony was uttered as the noble died with a swift stab to the Adam's apple. The shadow pried open the noble's hands that were caught in a death grip on a small book. It was a dirty, beaten book, but an important one, none the less, and the shadowy figure stuffed it away, and then jumped out the balcony, scaling the outer wall before disappearing into the black.  
  
O======I==================================================  
  
"Damn it!" Lord James slammed his fist down on the wooden table.  
  
"Calm down James, this is a matter that requires a calm mind." Edgemaster said to the infuriated nobleman.  
  
"Dammit! We lost the scripts as well as Lord Arc. We lost the SCRIPTS, it's over, this whole world is doomed." James threw himself into a chair and let out a long depressed sigh. "We don't even know who took the scripts. We need to find them, we need that information."  
  
"I know." Said the Edgemaster calmly. "And it is quite obvious who took them. Raphael has sent an agent to do this work. The script is most likely in his fortress."  
  
"That's exactly the point, how are we going to get it back?"  
  
"Not 'we' James, them." Edgemaster pointed to the soul shards on the table. Certain shards had yellow dots shinning from the inside.  
  
"I can easily manipulate a few of them, but three of them won't be as easy to control, namely these-"Edgemaster separated three of the shards from the others. Two had one dot each glowing, the other had two. The two one-doted shards were partly fused together at the tip, showing some from of binding between them, "-This one, I know this is the former demon, and this fused one, the brighter one on the left, I know that is the Chinese woman, but I am sad to say I don't know of this third one that's fused to the woman's. This third one . . . it's different than the others. Whomever it is, they have some sort of strong ties to each other"  
  
"Edgemaster, I mean no disrespect, but HOW are we getting the scripts back, you can't just manipulate the last hope of the world to go charging into the hornet's nest. There's no way that any of them are strong enough to beat Raphael yet either. It's like that demon bastard has some unknown backing."  
  
"I know James, there is some force backing Raphael, and it's not the Soul Edge, that is feeding off him. I have a bad feeling, but we must take our time and plan this out carefully. We can't afford anything less than perfect to topple Raphael." And with that, Edgemaster disappeared through the door, leaving the nobleman James to sit and stare at the soul shards.  
  
"Hard to believe these people are our last hopes." James murmured before leaving the room. "It's hard to believe that we put everything on the line for so few people."  
  
~End Chapter 6~  
  
O======I==================================================  
  
A/N: I'm incorporating some new things. Some characters may seem OOC and if so, I'll try to fix it if it REALLY bugs people. Sorry if I haven't been revealing too much about anyone, but I need some more inspiration and ideas for the next chapter. Actually, I just need to figure out whom to put in the next chapter, I have the storyline down. So please help me pick from the current cast. (And this is also pretty much the pairings, but I have a few twists up my sleeve for more, avid readers) :Talim and William :Seung Mina and Iatiak :Takaishi and Xianghua :Seigfried and Sophitia :Raphael and his plots :More new debutes that have already been planned try to pick 3 plz, that is. . .if anyone is actually reading this part. . . and pardon my misspelling of Seigfried's last name, tonight was the deadline I promised a friend, I'll edit it. 


	7. History Lesson

Disclaimer : Oi, me dunt be owning SCII, or any of it's characters, and I get no profit from this fiction, however! The characters I have created are MINE and if you use them, I will lower you into a vat of liquid nitrogen. You've been warned.  
  
A/N: Sorry for the long for people who actually READ my fic, but I kinda lost my inspiration, then I had no time, then I had lost the inspiration again, it's a never ending cycle! Anyways, Here it its, chapter 7 of an estimated 13 chapters!  
  
Chapter 7: History Lesson  
  
Takaishi and Xianghua reached one of the larger, independent cities after traveling along the Pilgrimage Highway. Unlike most villages, the city was bustling with street life. Along the outskirts of the city, farmers and herders try as hard as possible to keep up a flow of food despite the darkness. Traders from smaller villages flowed in and out with traded goods and guards stood like sentinels, watching for any signs of movement in the darkness beyond the walls. Torches and lamps lit in the street as well as carried around by people.  
  
"Finally, civilization again!" Takaishi stretched out his arms while walking alongside Xianghua. He couldn't help but glimpse over at her occasionally. She was in her more casual clothing, her Imperial uniform tucked away in her bag. She wore her favorite crimson red shorts and tunic that made her look both beautiful and menacing if she had her sword out. Xianghua turned her head slightly towards Takaishi and noticed that he was glancing at her. She just smiled as he blushed and acted like he wasn't doing anything while they strolled down the streets.  
  
"This place is bigger than I thought, where is that inn?" Takaishi thought out loud.  
  
Some random person responded, " Over there-" he said pointing down the street, "- past that store." Takaishi bowed but the man just shrugged, not used to foreign customs.  
  
"Hey, Takaishi, that building there. . ." Xianghua motioned for him to look, " It looks familiar doesn't it?"  
  
"No clue, never seen it before." Takaishi bluntly pointed out, "Unless you're saying we went in a circle."  
  
"No no no . . ." Xianghua shook her head and sighed, "Never mind, just never mind, we should check into the inn, then go for supplies."  
  
They both checked in and got their room. Takaishi checked his weapons while Xianghua sat on her bed counting the gold they had left. They still had enough gold to buy supplies, but after that, they'd be broke, and they'd need to find a new source of income rather than Takaishi's occasional bounties and one or to odd jobs here and there. Once again Xianghua sighed.  
  
"Somethin' bothering you Xiang?" Takaishi asked, looking up from his blades at her.  
  
"I'm fine, don't worry about it, just thinking about things." She responded lightly, continuing to think about what they were going to do once they got to Spain, and the center of Raphael's empire.  
  
"There's no need for thinking about our little adventure right now Xiang, we're pretty far from Spain, it's best just to relax right now and unwind." Takaishi said while plopping onto his bed to lye down.  
  
"Unwind?" Xianghua sighed and started rummaging through one of her smaller knapsacks.  
  
"That's what I said, Xiang. You're too tense, you really need to keep more of a clear mind when fighting you know, no better way to clear the mind than to just kick back and relax." Takaishi said as he put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.  
  
"Really, though? We don't have the time to relax Takaishi! We're both being hunted, and I'M the one who has to trudge into the heart of demon territory and succeed where others have died painful deaths trying!" Xianghua was near-ranting.  
  
"That's exactly my point, Xiang. You're ranting on something that isn't going to happen anytime soon. And by the way, I'm coming with you, so you're not alone." Takaishi said while still lying down with his eyes shut.  
  
Xianhua sat silent for a moment, pondering to herself. Silently she took her possessions from the knapsack and placed them onto her bed on the other end of the room.  
  
"I'm going to get supplies." She said while shouldering the knapsack.  
  
"Have fun." Takaishi responded.  
  
Xianghua left the room, trying not to seem too agitated, but wound up slamming the door unintentionally.  
  
O======I==================================================  
  
Siegfried left his heavy breastplate and greaves, as well as his sword in his room and went down the hall to where Sophitia's room was. It wasn't locked like Cass had said, so he gently opened the door. Sophitia was sitting on the bed, cradling her sword and shield, and didn't take noticed of him until he stepped all the way into the room.  
  
"Sophitia?" Siegfried asked as light as he could make his voice.  
  
Almost instantly Sophitia broke out of her trance to look at Siegfried. Tears welled up in her eyes and she stared at Siegfried as if he was an illusion. Suddenly, she lunged out at him and caught him into a hug, small tears of happiness streaking down her cheeks. O======I==================================================  
  
"Hard to believe this little thing is part of something so important." Takaishi thought out loud, while looking upon a now much large shard that consisted of several fused ones.  
  
"Aye, it is, it's a piece of that blade I told ya about, at least that's how the legend goes. When the world is cast into the infinite darkness by the Shadowstorm artifact, the Nova Blade can break the darkness by shattering the orb. Tis' a simple little legend really, no one took it seriously, but just look at it now. It's all true." A burly man said. He was one of the Keepers of the Old Art, a now rare order that held many old folklore and legends, as well as several ancient artifacts. Takaishi had wandered around the city and found one of the old temples that the Keepers used as a "museum" of sorts.  
  
"Aye, twas a lucky chance that we had one of those shards, lad. The legend said that once, a long time ago, a demon from the center of the world crafted the Shadowstorm artifact so that it could keep the world in eternal night so that it could roam free, away from its mortal enemy, the sun. Well, the gods weren't too pleased about seeing their experimental world being threatened by a being that equaled them, so they crafted the Nova Blade in response, and passed it down to a hero lineage. It the final battle, when the killing blow against the demon was struck, the blade burst apart, sending searing shards across the black skies, tearing holes of light through the dense clouds. The hero had perished because of this, but his sacrifice brought the world back into the light. None of the shards ever were recovered until the world was threatened by the Shadowstorm again." the man tapped his chin and thought to himself. Takaishi went back to examining the shard that now resembled a chunk of a sword.  
  
"One last thing before you leave in search of the other pieces, lad." The burley man said right when Takaishi was about to stand up and leave, "Once the blade is fully fused, take it to the Tower of Heroes, where its hilt resides. Once you have the hilt and blade, take both pieces to the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, only the will of the smith god can put the blade together." Takaishi nodded and left the building to meet up with Xianghua, who was getting supplies in the village market.  
  
Takaishi looked over more maps while waiting for Xianghua at the inn. When she showed up, illuminated by a lamp, he spoke up.  
  
"Look what I got Xiang." He said smiling as he held out the blade piece.  
  
"It's bigger than before. What happened to it?" she asked, staring at it as it pulsed light out slowly, but with more force.  
  
"Apparently the shards we find fuse into a blade, then into a sword. If we put this blade together, we could get rid of this damned darkness. Its more complicated than that I think though" He said while scratching is head.  
  
"Really? Well don't you think that will be a tad bit hard? I meant, if it's a sword, we'll need way more pieces than we have, I mean, this only looks like the size of a dagger so far." Xianghua put down the basket of rice she was carrying to look at the blade piece.  
  
"And how exactly are we going to find every piece? If it's a sword, there's at least bound to be fifty shards out there, maybe more. We don't even know the size of the blade. And we only have two shards regardless." She said, hint of skepticism in her voice.  
  
"I say we should try it, how hard could it be?" Takaishi responded, but this commented only made Xianghua more skeptical.  
  
"Oh come on Takaishi, think about it, pieces could be scattered all over the world! How would we find them ALL?"  
  
"I dunno, as we go along."  
  
"AS WE GO ALONG!?" Xianghua was starting to get angry with Takaishi's sudden incompetence.  
  
"Calm down Xiang, no need to get angry, it was only a suggestion, and we could always use a weapon to wield against Raphael.  
  
She stared at him then sighed. She started to wrap up some of the vegetables she had bought. Fruits and vegetables were rare without the sun, due to the stress-inducing task farmers had to pull to grow them. Despite the horribly high prices, many of the vegetables don't taste all too great, but still held nutrients. Takaishi went to his bed and plopped down to read a small note he had. Takaishi was still awake when Xianghua retired to bed, and he couldn't help watching her sleep.  
  
'She has the most wonderful smile. . .' he thought to himself, 'What am I thinking, she's just my friend as well as my partner on this, I shouldn't be thinking these things. . .'  
  
Takaishi continued to watch Xianghua. A silluette of her was cast upon the wall in the fading lamplight. Even when Takaishi turned in for bed, he took one last fleeting glance at Xianghua's innocent smile before killing the lamp light. O======I==================================================  
William swiftly brought his massive blade crashing down upon one of the wolves head, freeing the creature from a demonic grip. Talim swiftly lashed out with her elbow blades, cutting and slashing any wolf that dared to close in on her and fending off others with a torch. This wasn't the first time the pair had been ambushed by some freakishly mutated animals, and each time they had handled the situations easily. These kind of fights merely annoyed Talim. If they didn't have to fight, they could have gotten to the next city. Their supplies were getting low as well. William's hunting didn't go well since most of the local wildlife had been tainted by the presence of demons that wandered aimlessly in the eternal night.  
  
"William, this isn't going-" Talim jumped to the side as one of the wolves lunged at her throat with jaws open and foaming. "- too well, we need to get to a city soon and –" once again Talim dodged, and slashed the wolf's belly open while it was in mid-flight, "-get some more supplies, and repair our weapons."  
  
"ENOUGH!!!" William let out a deafening battle cry and swept his massive sword in a wide arc, killing off many of the wolves and wounding others that couldn't dodge completely. The other wolves, even though driven by their demon-infused hatred, fled. Talim sat down and sighed, even though she didn't do much fighting.  
  
"Heyuz. . . we not far from a town metinks, maybe we culd stop der, you know, rest." William said while staring off, trying to see through the increasingly think horizon.  
  
"Metinks there be a fog comin in. looky." William swung a fist out and sure enough, he couldn't see it any longer. "Berry tick, don't like tick fog, no good for fights. Me don't wanna swing sword and hurt you Talim."  
  
"Humph. . . we can't set up camp either, the wolves will come back with more, and if we trench in here, we might run out of food and water, not to mention kindling for fires." Talim said while observing as much as she could see with the torchlight.  
  
"WE keep goin den?" William asked over his shoulder.  
  
"I, guess so, lead on William." Talim said with a subtle sigh.  
  
"Okie dokie!" William started trudging off into the thick fog with Talim tailing behind him with the torch, trying to get some limited visibility.  
  
O======I================================================== Sophitia clasped onto Siegfried in once massive death lock. She was so glad to see him, after the events in Athens. Siegfried slowly and subtly tried to pry Sophitia off him, but to no avail, she just clung onto him. At first he was just agitated at her for showing such emotion. He always thought showing emotion as weak, but slowly Siegfried returned the hug.  
  
"Siegfried. . .Why did you run away? Why? We were worried. I prayed that maybe you would come back." Sophitia said lightly.  
  
Siegfried knew that she was going to ask him that. Frankly he didn't want to answer her, but something made him. He wasn't so sure what it was, but looking into Sophitia's eyes made him talk.  
  
"I wanted to leave. I didn't need to be cared for, I didn't think I needed it. I thought if I could get the Soul Edge back, it would have healed me."  
  
Sophitia stared at him, pity in her eyes. Her stare made Siegfried feel uneasy. Pity was not something Siegfried wanted, in fact, it was the last thing he wanted. Those who pity are weak, and those who are pitied are even weaker, he had always thought. Perhaps it was the Soul Edge's presence affecting his conscious, Siegfried thought as he realized his past errors. He was no longer tainted by the cursed sword, and for once in a long time, Siegfried was thinking clearly with reason. Sophitia broke the embrace and sat down on her bed as Siegfried took a seat in a nearby chair. Slowly Sophita wove the tale about the fall of Athens.  
  
End Chapter  
  
A/N: Yeahoo, finally got a chapter done. Tried not to make it seem too OOC and too cliché. . . .Well looks like I did a terrible job then! If you haven't noticed it already, the main focus is T&X, with other characters/couples on the backburner. I'll try and get the next chapter up with a little flashbacking from a Raph PoV and continue on with Iatiak and Seung Mina, maybe a bit more of W&T. If prevoked, I might write up what happened to Taki and where she is. . .but ONLY if I get enough reviews. R&R plz!!!! I need all the reviews I can get! 


	8. The Hunter's Return

Disclaimer Oh gee, this again? Oh well, I don't own SC or it's charcters, they are property of Namco and I not making profit from this. Though MY characters created must not be used by any other author without my permission or I shall hunt them down in their sleep. A/N Eh. . . .been a while. I kind of lost my inspiration for this chapter and I just now got over that writing block, and now I be back inta da groove. So pardon me if it sucks, I just got over a 2 month writers block, sue me :P wait. . .I take back the last statement, don't sue me! My fragile mind wouldn't be able to handle it! WAAHHHH *runs off into the background*. Anyway, here it is, Chapter 8, and chapter 9 be comin' soon *coughmonthcough*  
  
Chapter 8: The Hunter's Return  
  
Taki lost the trail. She had the little demon right where she wanted him, and then he just disappeared, leaving no trace. This angered Taki to an extent. The demon she was hunting was a notorious genius. It had covered its trail too well, even for Taki. Demons were coming from everywhere; appearing mysteriously to attack in the dark, then disappear. Ever since the darkness fell, there had been no shortage of prey for Taki.  
  
"Damn." Taki muttered. For once, she had no clue where she was. All Taki knew was that she was somewhere in Spain when she lost trail. She had haplessly wandered in the more logical areas, but could not pick up the trail. So far Taki deducted that the last possible place the demon could be hiding was under the shelter of Raphael. Despite how much she loathed Raphael and the Soul Edge, she dared not try to sneak into Raphael's heavily fortified citadel without others. It would be a suicide mission, waste of lives. That was most likely the case; the demon was in Raphael's territory because it knew Taki dared not tread there.  
  
"That conniving bastard." She uttered under her breath as she sat in a rapidly decaying tree. She took a survey of her surroundings then pulled out her small hip-pouch and flipped open the flap. As soon as the flap went up, a yellow glow gleamed forth. Taki took out a large, illuminated shard of metal and examined it. She had found several yellow shards imbedded within the foreheads of several demons. Something in those shards called out to her so she pried them off and stuck them in her pouch. In some weird way, they had managed to bind themselves together while in the pouch. Taki tossed it back and forth between her hands, watching the shard leave a trail of yellow luminescence in the air.  
  
"Odd little thing. . ." Taki quietly muttered. It gave off a good amount of light, yet it had no heat radiating from it. It only had one razor edge and Taki just couldn't figure out what it was. Suddenly, from the dark, there came a loud snort and the cracking of dead twigs. Taki crouched in silence on the tree branch and scanned where the sound came from.  
  
Out of the darkness, a bull-like demon rushed the tree Taki sat in, obviously drawn by her light source. Right before the head connected with the tree, Taki leapt out and behind the beast. The creature's horns stuck into the tree, but it quickly shoved itself off and turned to face the demon hunter as she landed. Unfortunately for the demon, catching Taki by surprise was a hard thing to do as she quickly leapt to the side after landing when the beast charged again with a furious roar. Regaining her balance, Taki quickly dashed behind the demon before it fully stopped from its charge. Several quick jabs and slashes into the back of the beast dropped it like a stone. The demon gave one last dying grunt and Taki wiped the blood from her daggers onto the once-demon's fur. She studied the corpse briefly and found it had a Third Eye gemstone placed on its forehead, much like the one on the demon she was hunting.  
  
"Hmph, Rajied sent a little gift it seems. . ." Sheathing the daggers, Taki slipped off into the darkness, not wanting to draw anymore demons with the scent of blood and the yells of combat.  
  
O======I==================================================  
  
In his own little wing of Raphael's citadel, Rajied sat. He looked over all of his "subjects", namely hideously twisted demon-men. The more human he convinced to join him, the more demons he would make. It was only a matter of time before Raphael is overthrown, and with Raphael out of the picture, Rajied would bind himself with the Soul Edge and make this petty world a raging maelstrom of fire. Oh it will be glorious, destroying every last living being on the miserable planet and harvesting their souls. Power, that's what drove demons, raw power. The more power demons got, the more they crave, even if it meant turning on each other. That is what Rajied planned, a backstabbing, all in the sake of power. But wait! Rather then taking the risk of stabbing Raphael in the back, why not let someone else kill him? Yes, an even better plan Rajied thought up. When the so called "heroes" show up and beat down Raphael's forces, Raphael will call for help. But he'll get none. Let the so called "heroes" slay Raphael, then pop in last minute and steal the Soul Edge. A brilliant plan. In the darkness of his dungeon, the glint of Rajied's teeth can be seen in the dim torchlight, his face plastered with a malevolent grin, and occasionally, the maniacal laughter can be heard echoing through his halls. The world will burn under Rajied, and there's no one who will dare stop him.  
  
O======I==================================================  
  
Takaishi sat watching Xianghua pace back and forth. She had been pacing for over a half hour now and Takaishi was getting bored.  
  
"Must you keep doing that?" Takaishi sighed.  
  
"Well you don't have to sit there and watch!" Xianghua snapped irritably. Takaishi held up his hands innocently as she snapped at him.  
  
"Sorry, sorry, was thinking out loud." He said quickly, but that seemed to just irritate Xianghua more. Xianghua finally stopped pacing and sat on the ground staring into the fire. So many things were running through her head. Most of her thoughts concerned her mission. Maybe both of them should find this so called "savior weapon" and pray that it gives them an upper hand, or should they just go straight to Spain and knock on Raphael's door. Her other thoughts concerned Takaishi. She kept most of her emotions concerning her "partner" bottled up. The emotions that she often shows though were anger and frustration, and she had a lot of frustration currently.  
  
"Listen Xiang, what's bothering you?" He said, leaning forward facing her.  
  
"It's nothing. . ." she said in a half-whisper. This just made Takaishi frown.  
  
"Listen Xiang, you're a terrible, terrible liar, so just tell me what's going on and you won't have to suffer me asking anymore questions." Takaishi said, pointing a finger at her.  
  
"It's just concerning the mission. Half of my brain says to get this all over-with, the other half is saying we should find a better way." She responded  
  
"Huh, that it?" Takaishi said, leaning back a bit. Xianghua hesitated a bit.  
  
'Maybe I should tell him. . .' she thought, 'no. . . . No, I couldn't not now; he probably doesn't feel that way. What if he does though? But if he isn't . . . No, I should tell him later, when this is all over.'  
  
"Xiang?"  
  
"Oh, sorry, just thinking again." She said and smiled, rubbing the back of her head.  
  
"Sheesh, major mood swing there." Takaishi uttered under his breath to himself. He new she was still hiding something, but he chose to pry into her thoughts another time.  
  
"Well, I still say we should find this sword thing, we'll need any advantage we can get." Takaishi said, directed at Xianghua.  
  
"I was thinking the same thing, but what is bad about that plan is, how long would it take us to completely build the sword?" Xianghua sighed and laid back on the dead grass.  
  
"Why would it matter, we're not in a rush, it's not like Raphael's going to destroy the whole world, he merely wishes to . . . enslave it." Takaishi sighed as well, looking into the flickering fire, watching the flames dance across the burning logs. There was something in fire that seemed so beautiful to him. The fire reminded him of Xianghua. The way she fights, almost like a dance, as she leaps from one victim to another, gracefully lunging and feinting . . . Takaishi shook his head as he found himself staring at Xianghua, who lay on the grass half asleep.  
  
"Who's turn to watch the fire?" She said while staring into the black skies.  
  
"Mine I think. We stopped at an inn last time, so that would have normally been my turn." Takaishi replied.  
  
"I guess so, goodnight then Takaishi." Xianghua yawned and crawled into her tent.  
  
Takaishi continued to stare into the fire, then threw a handful of dead grass into it and watched the sparks plume upward. It would be a long night.  
  
O======I==================================================  
  
"Rheaol? Where are you dammit?" Rajeid's voice echoed with anger. Rajied didn't understand why he made that particular demon. It was completely arrogant and ignored commands. The only redeeming trait about Rheaol was his skill with the blade.  
  
"Rheaol where are you bastard? Your creator ORDERS you to show yourself!" Rajied roared. From the corner of the dungeon, a man stepped forth. His head was covered with a hood and face masked by a veil. His eyes glowed blood red and the weapons strapped to his back gleamed in the torchlight. To top off the man's sinister look, he wore a black robe, tied with a sash adorned with human skulls and demon claws.  
  
"What is it now, you fool?" Rheaol spoke calmly.  
  
"Fool? FOOL? I'm the one who created you, and I can just as easily send you back to were you came from." Rajied snapped.  
  
"If you are done ranting, tell me my job, or leave me be, you've wasted enough of my time." Rheaol said with a small hint of malevolence in his voice.  
  
"Why you . . ." Rajied roared, letting loose a bit of his primal energies before snapping back, "You are to seek out these warriors-"The demon lord handed his assassin several small, glowing green crystals, "-and fight them. Those who do not stand a match for you, kill them, if some manage to drive you away, return here with their crystal. I need to know just how strong they are."  
  
"As you will." Rheaol slipped off into the darkness and left Rajied rubbing the temples of his human form.  
  
"Why did I create that little bastard? I always get a headache from talking with him."  
  
O======I==================================================  
  
Iataik had made a slow but steady recovery under the care of Seung Mina. After a few months, he had nearly recovered. Now, rather than being bed ridden, Iataik could help Seung Mina with the chores. Each "day" was nearly the same though. All he did was check the fires and torches, fetch some firewood, then spar until mealtime, then rest. It was all the same, and it drove him mad. Sometimes he felt like he had to escape. Seung Mina drove him mad as well. Most of the time she was an enjoyable presence, but she often compared him to his former master, Kilik. Iataik's desire for revenge didn't help his current situation either. Often he found himself picturing Kilik's death as well as seeing himself running his spear through that bastard demon Raphael.  
  
'As soon as I get all my strength back, I'm going to hunt that demon down and deliver the wrath of vengeance. My comrades and masters death are not in vain as long as I still walk this plane.' Iataik thought as he spared with Seung Mina. For all safety reasons, the head of his spear was taken off by her, yet she kept the blade on her staff. She never struck back either, only blocked and dodged. This bugged Iataik as well. Though he wasn't exactly asking for pain, he would at least like some challenge to sparing.  
  
"Can't . . . You hit back . . . for once?" He said in between blows. After ending his sentence, he brought the staff down hard at Seung Mina's head, only to have it blocked.  
  
"Why? Just so I hurt you then have to care for you more?" She said with an almost bored voice.  
  
"No, I just would like a challenge right now." He responded, lowering his staff.  
  
"Well I don't want you hurting yourself right after recovering, that's why I'm not hitting back." She said, jabbing the blade of her weapon into the ground. Seung Mina stretched out her arms.  
  
"Oh come on, I can take it." He said, sounding almost immature.  
  
"No, in another month maybe, but not yet." She said, picking up her weapon and placing it on her shoulder.  
  
"You aren't my master, Seung Mina." He said.  
  
". . . I know, but it's what Kilik would have wanted." She said as she walked into the hut.  
  
"Damnit! There she goes again! Why must she always bring him up?" He said out loud. Maybe too out loud, because Seung Mina heard him through the walls. It was true, she was comparing him to Kilik. Perhaps she should try and forget Kilik, but something in her mind just wanted to grip onto the dying memories of one of her greatest companions.  
  
End Chapter  
  
A/N So yep, Taki be back for those who whined about here :P you know who you are. Planning on bringing back a lot of old characters LATER in the fic so don't be bothering with them. There are some couples I've thrown on the backburner and I kinda feel guilty about that. I've almost exclusively used TakxXian for each chapter because I have so much to cram in before *spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler* and I really want their relationship to develop before then. As for the other "couples" It's going to take a little bit longer. So R&R and nag me about crud in this chapter in your reviews. No flamers or I hunt you down and REALLY show you what flaming means *grabs a blowtorch and straps on a bandolier loaded with firecrackers*. 


	9. The Assassin's Dagger

Disclaimer:: I don't own SC2, or its characters, nor am I making any profit, in fact...I'm in red ink right now A/N::well yeah, sorry for the massive delay on this chapter, got really sidetracked with another story as well as my friends. . . .so yeah, hope this chapter doesn't disappoint too many of you, it' kinda short compared to the others.  
  
The Assassin's Dagger  
  
The sound or metal clashing upon metal rang through the halls. A dark robed man locked blades with his opponent, a man fully equipped in platemail armor. The combatants exchanged more blows before drawing themselves into another sword-lock. This time, the demon was prepared, and threw his knee upward, catching the swordsman in the chin and knocking him off guard. With the swordsman off his balance, the demon quickly drove both of his blades into the swordsman's chest, then tore them outward, serrating the spine with inhuman strength, effectively chopping the man in half.  
  
"Weak little human." Said Rheaol to the corpse. "Not even worth tainting my robe with your blood." Quickly, Rheaol reached down and grabbed the head of the dead man and stared into the rolled up eyes. From the mouth of the human, a small blue wisp was drawn out and Rheaol quickly grabbed it before it could escape. It was a soul, and Rheaol wasn't about to let it escape after the rather annoying fight he had. Rather than devouring it, like most demons would do, Rheaol stored the soul in a small jar and once he got back to the citadel, he would place it with all the other souls of his previous victims. For the last final action before leaving, the demon assassin smashed the gem that represented the human's life essence and scattered the pieces with one puff of breath.  
  
"Next victim." He said out loud to himself with a bored tone. Rheaol rummaged through the small sack he left behind a pillar before his fight and pulled out another gem. Already he had slain many of the supposed "heroes" that Rajied felt threatened by, and now there were very few crystals left in his bag. This particular one was different than the others. It glowed red, showing that it was an opponent not to take lightly. This made Rheaol smile, a dark, malevolent smile.  
  
"Hopefully this one will pose some challenge." He uttered, and then disappeared.  
  
O======I==================================================  
  
Taki slew the final demon that opposed her. She was trying to regain the trail of Rajied, but encountered a large pack of what she classified as "corrupt wolves" or demons that had taken over the corporeal form of a wolf. Fortunately, the demons were incredibly stupid and had no organization, allowing Taki to kill at least a dozen before the others ran off, fearing their lives. With her adapted eyes, Taki could see small lights glinting off in the dark. She had mostly steered away from civilization because she didn't blend in as well as others. Taki preferred her solitude. Once again wiping the tainted blood off her daggers, Taki set off as fast as she could, following what was left of the corruptive trail that Rajied did not do a good job of covering up. It was a lucky break for Taki, since Rajied covered MOST of his tracks. She ran cautiously though, because it seemed far too easy.  
  
O======I==================================================  
  
The demon man, Rheaol, appeared once more into a large thicket of bushes. By homing in on the life energies, Rheaol managed to successfully track down his next victim by shadow stepping near the last identified position. Rheaol approached his quarry while still concealed by darkness and bushes. It was a young Japanese man walking with a Chinese woman along a rugged dirt path, a few lanterns lighting the path, obviously heading to a small village. Unlike most demons, that would typically would have charged in screaming, Rheaol was clever, and preferred to plan out his attacks carefully. His first priority would be to get his target's companion away from him, then head in for the kill. Everything was planned out, now all Rheaol needed was confirmation of his target. Quickly, he reached into his robe and drew out the red crystal, peering through it at the young man. The crystal outlined the young man with a bold red outline, indicating it was the matching energies. It was all down to timing from that point, and Rheaol would just have to stalk them until timing was right. In the mean time, he observed his opponent. The man carried one long blade upon his left hip. Judging from the size and shape, the demon guessed it was a katana. Strapped to the young man's back was another blade, but it was shorter, obviously an off handed blade used for parrying and quick counter attacks. The woman only carried a solitary blade, but something about the sword gave Rheaol a bad feeling, that is why he had planned to distract her in some way. He wanted to stay as far away from that blade as possible.  
  
O======I==================================================  
  
Talim sat patiently as William ate his share of the fish they had caught. They had been moving along a riverbank for quite some time. Talim was hoping that eventually, they would make it to a sea or the ocean and then try to find a port or something. It was most likely that no one would launch a ship in such terrible blackness, it would be suicide. Instead, Talim hoped that she could dig up some information or maybe even a good weapon smith. Her tonfas were looking incredibly beat up. Her left one has several dings in it and the right tonfa's grip was completely worn down, making it painful to wield. William's weapon was not looking any better. The edge was getting dull, and it's wickedly curved tip seemed to have lost some of its previous wickedness. His hilt though, was in better shape than Talim's tonfas.  
  
"William? How long have we been following this beach?" Talim asked her oger- like companion.  
  
"Lets me thinks. Huh, tree days methink, not sure, no stars or light."  
  
"Hmm....We must be somewhere far from. . ."Talim stopped in mid sentence when something in the horizon caught her eye. It was a glint of light.  
  
"That might be a town, or city, or something! Let's go William!" She took off sprinting across the beach, William taking long, trudging steps behind her.  
  
"Maybe de gots sum gud food der too"  
  
O======I==================================================  
  
Sophitia, Cassandra, and Siegfried continued their push into the wilderness. According to Cass, there were a large coven of demons intelligent enough to organize themselves into raiding parties and attacked the local villages. Also according to Cass, the demons horded some rather valuable weapons that Sophita and Cass desperately needed now that their previous gladiuses were wearing down. In fact, they had been using their swords more for bludgeoning than slashing. Siegfried needed no new weapon though, he still carried Faust with him. The large sword still had it's razor sharp edge and amazing bulk, despite many years of being used. He still was amazed by how well Sophie had kept his old blade. In the pit of his shallow, nearly forgotten heart, Siegfried felt a pang of compassion towards the woman who had just lost all of her family except for her sister.  
  
'Can not let my thoughts stray, not until everything is over, and I have Soul Edge. . .' The last thought in his mind, Soul Edge. It was the weapon Sophita warned him about. It was the weapon that drove him mad, slaying his father and thousands upon thousands of victims. Yet, for some reason, even with his tainted hands, Sophitia still felt love towards him. Siegfried just could not understand women. What he did understand though, was Sophie's worrying towards him.  
  
'Soul Edge. . .No longer am I your slave. From this point on, I venture to destroy you, not to retake what I thought was mine!' he thought to himself.  
  
"Siegfried, you alright?" Sophitia asked kindly, noticing the blank look in Siegfried's eyes.  
  
"Yes, perfectly fine." He cracked a tiny smirk in the corner of his lips, barely noticeable to Sophie or Cass.  
  
"Well, no zoning out when we're fighting okay?" Cass chimed in. Sophitia cast an icy glare at Cassandra for such a sarcastic remark, making her sister seemingly shrink under her.  
  
"I'll try not to." He replied, still with the tiny smirk on his face. Sophitia didn't see his smirk, but saw how he tensed up. His grip on the hilt of Faust tightened even more than it already was. Sophitia looked at Siegfried with a slight amount of worry in her eyes. Siegfried saw this and just shrugged it off as they continued walking. The small band of friends kept trudging along into the darkness, unaware of what they were truly going to face.  
  
End Chapter  
  
A/N::: Srry it was short, and sorry for the wait. Major case of writers block plus big ass chemistry mid-term. Gah, plus a mild loss of inspiration. NE ways..... R&R plz so that I can keep writing or I'm discontinuing this fic *holds a pair of scissors near a cord holding his fic in place* go ahead, try me!!! GWAHAHAHAH *cuts the cord on accident* gah damnit!!! Anyways, more to come. . . . .try and stick with me. 


	10. Fateful Rivals

Disclaimer:: Hmmmmmm, why do I have to write these things every time? Oh that's right. . .being sued is a bad thing. I digress, I don't own Soul Calibur 2 or any of its characters, they belong to Namco and stuff so yeah . . . A/N:: Well yeah, here's the next chapter. As you know, I'm focusing on X and T and their relationship, hell I should make it a Xiang x Ooc fic than anything else. =P why didn't I do that damnit? Oh, it's cause I wanted to do more than that. . .damn that's comin back to bite me in the arse, neh? Eh, sorry, I wanted to try to make this seem more in depth, but I've yet to include exact locations of each "party" and explain certain things that are currently happening. I'ma try harder to work on these little problems, because I want this to be an EPIC!!!!! Neh, I'm dreamin with that. . .anyways, enough author crap, plz R&R, I need the responses to complete this EPIC!!!!!  
  
**Chapter 10: Fateful Rivals**  
  
Something just didn't seem right. Xianghua looked back at her friend with an expression of concern etched on her face. For the past day, Takaishi seemed more distant and focused than usual. It was as if he felt he was being followed. Xianghua had tried to get him to talk, even argue, but Takaishi never responded. Xianghua had even hit him over the head with several things, each time he'd just rub his head and glance around. It was rather odd behavior for Takaishi . . . in fact, it was just rather odd behavior in general. They'd been walking along the highway for quite some time. The highway was recently traversed, since the lanterns along the side of the road were still lit and burning, the wax or oil replaced by each passerby. Xianghua and Takaishi took the liberty of replacing any near- burnt-out lanterns to help their fellow travelers. Takaishi's trudging suddenly stopped and Xianghua glanced back at him.  
  
"Why'd you stop? We still got a lot of road to cover." She asked, turning around.  
  
"Xiang, can you go on ahead? I'll catch up, I'm faster than you anyways." Xianghua scoffed at his comment and retorted, "Why do you want me to go on ahead? We've always gone as a team and you just want to bail out?"  
  
Takaishi glared at her and she recoiled. Never had Takaishi glared at her that way. It was a cross between fear and anger. She merely nodded and turned around shakily.  
  
"Xiang, theres a path to the left of us that will lead through the forest, take it, it's a shorter route than around the forest. I'll meet you at the town. "  
  
"How do you know that?" She asked, "You've never been here. . .have you?"  
  
Takaishi shook his head and pointed to a small little path leading off the highway into the forest. "Judging by that path, it'd probably head to the next town because the highway was pathed out to go around this forest according to the maps in the last village." He said. Xianghua only nodded and walked to the path, glancing back at Takaishi over her shoulder. He had tossed his bag off to the side and was stretching. He glared at her one last time before she took off down the forest path.  
  
O======I==================================================  
  
The fierce battle continued to rage on. Cassandra lay unconscious on the ground and Sophitia was cut up badly but still fighting. Siegfried was holding his own rather nicely. He had felled at least five demons with the first swing, and killed three more on the next counter-slash. It would be like cutting the grass. . .If he didn't have to watch where he was swinging, since Sophitia was fighting so close to him. Despite her injuries and lack of good equipment, Sophitia was doing a wonderful job of defending her fallen sister, lashing out swiftly at a demon who rushed to close. A ring of dead demons surrounded her and Cass while Siegfried cut swathe after swathe of the unrelenting horde.  
  
"I don't get it-" Sophitia started say, while cracking another skull with her blunted sword, "-How could these demon's multiply so fast?" Siegfried only grunted as he swung in another wide arc, beheading some demons and mutilating the rest unfortunate enough to move out of the path of Faust. This wasn't a challenge anymore, all he had to do was swing Faust back and forth in a general area, and he'd kill or maul at least five demons. The demons, in essence, were utterly mindless, only driven by the scent of human flesh. This was both an advantage and a shortcoming. The demons would just mindlessly rush to their deaths, but as long as there were living ones, they'd continue to rush. And that's what was happening. Siegfried stole a quick glance at Sophitia, worried that she might be overrun soon. He sword looked like it would break any moment, and her shield's handle strap had ripped off. Siegfried started to hack his way back, taking a few heads and arms with each swing. He was almost soaked from head to toe with demon blood, his armor dented, and Faust was as equally drenched in blood.  
  
Sophitia hurled her shield as hard as possible and the closest demon while turning to bash the brains out of another that got too close to Cass. The resounding pang from the rebounding shield automatically made Sophitia raise her arm to catch it. Siegfried was hacking through some of the last demons, but there still was a large group circling her. To make matters worse, the lantern that Cass was carrying was starting to go out. If that lantern went out, Sophitia would be mobbed by the demons. The only thing that kept them from charging was the fear of the light. . .the lantern.  
  
"Siegfried hurry up!" She yelled, at the same time smashing the dulling point of her gladius into the open maw of a werewolf like demon. Sophitia kicked the carcass off her blade quickly as she turned to face the next opponent. This time, the demon got the best of her and made a swipe that connected to her lower ribs. Sophitia grunted slightly in pain, but returned the clawing with several quick blows from her gladius and a finishing blow from her severely dented shield. All the while, the lantern's light was fading.  
  
O======I==================================================  
The demon watched as the girl ran off into the forest. It was a nice unexpected twist for the Rheaol, as he didn't have to figure out some way to separate the two, since they did it on their own. His target was just stretching. . .more than that, he was waiting. The human turned slowly around and glared at Rheaol's position, unable to see the demon himself, but knew he was in the shadows somewhere. Rheaol confronted the man, face to face since there was no point in hiding after being seen. Usually, Rheaol did his deeds in the darkness, swiftly killing to get the job done, but something in the human was emanating. Rheaol's only interpretation of this "aura" was that it would be one hell of a fight. Both "men" stood, staring each other down, blades in both hands. Takaishi's grip on Masamune tightened as he waited, anticipating an attack directed for his neck with a low, rib slashing blow at the same time with the off-handed blade. He judged right. The black robed demon swiftly ran forward and lashed out for Takaishi's neck with a fore-arm swing, only to have it blocked by the Lotus blade carried in Takaishi's offhand. The second blow came swiftly after the first, hoping to catch him off-guard, but it was also blocked. Quickly thinking at the same moment, Takaishi drew out how he was going to counter. He swiftly side-stepped to the left, letting the demon's blade that was in a sword clench with the Muremasa slide off to the right. With so much power put into trying to break the sword clench and push forward with it's slash, the demon fell off guard a slight bit, leaving Takaishi open to slash at his forearm. Takaishi's slash missed though, as the demon jump to the side, avoiding an attack that would have removed it's arm. Rheaol resumed his offensive, fueled by anger of almost being de-armed by a human. The demon started swiftly striking with both hands, trying to avoid another sword clench that would put him in the previous position. Downward, diagonal, low, neck, upper . . . each slash came in rapid succession, and each one was blocked by Takaishi. Rheaol pressed his attacks before finally back flipping away, frustrated at being unable to break his opponent's defenses.  
  
Seizing the opportunity, Takaishi dashed forward as Rheaol recovered from his offensive rush. Rather than returning the favor and assuming the offensive strike after strike, Takaishi dashed past Rheaol and leaped. Rheaol spun around quick enough to see Takaishi in mid-slash after rebounding off a tree. Instinctively, both blades rose up to meet their counterparts, deflecting Takaishi's bold attack but knocking both combatants off balance. Rheaol was the first to recover and struck like a snake in the dying lamp light. His left blade was deflected but a grunt of pain told him that his right one had found its target. Unfortunately, the demon had no time to gloat as both of Takaishi's blades lashed out in response, catching the demon in the shoulder and a small gash across the chest. Almost instantly Rheaol withdrew to the closest concentrated body of shadows. Not once had he ever been struck like that, no human had ever matched his speed. This was new . . . the rush he was getting fighting against this human. Rheaol liked it, the feeling of invincibility being replaced by the instinct to survive. Rheaol's torn robe was discarded as he stepped back into the lamp's light to face his opponent. The demonic blades hummed at the tension their master was feeling. The human, battered, but defiantly not broken, stood dauntingly. Blood flowed freely from his small wound on his side. Both combatants once again stood in their respective stances, ready to begin their deadly dance once more.  
  
O======I==================================================  
Xianghua was lost, and getting more worried by the moment. Takaishi had told her to run ahead, which was one thing she didn't understand. He had always traveled with Xianghua, even when she told him to stay put, he'd defiantly follow her. It was a trait she enjoyed in him for some reason, that stubbornness that had caused more trouble than good. She stopped and put down her lantern. Something didn't feel right, and she had the sudden urge to run back the way she came, back towards Takaishi. . .unfortunately she didn't know where exactly she had ran. For some unknown reason, Xianghua started growing more worried. Finally, she just couldn't take it anymore and started head back down a semi-beaten path, hoping that it would lead back to the main highway, and Takaishi. An ominous feeling was growing inside of Xianghua, and as she ran, her grip on both the lantern handle and the Kritta-Yuga tightened so much that her knuckles turned white. It seemed like an eternity of running, looking as if she passed the same things over and over. Sounds of clashing metal started to reach her ears. One thing rolled through her mind as she ran towards the light at the end of the path that led back to the highway. She heard clashing of metal and the grunts of glancing blows being blocked. A battle was going on, and Takaishi was most likely part of it.  
  
O======I==================================================  
The lantern was long dead. Siegfried sat cradling Sophitia, whose breathing was starting to become more labored. Cassandra was conscious again, but was sleeping silently across from the small campfire. The final moments of their battle were swift. The lantern had died out and it was that last thing holding the demons back. They literally had piled on hop of Sophitia, who had put herself over her sister to shield her from the claws and teeth. Siegfried had hacked away most of the demons in the pile but had to pry the rest off and kill them one by one, not wanting to risk chopping Sophie in half. None of the demons even bothered with Siegfried, all of them driven into a frenzy, tearing at Sophitia's back or at each other. Needless to say, all the demons where dad, now Siegfried's attention was drawn to the woman who had saved him from death, twice. He had patched up her back with what he could scrounge up, since only Cassandra carried a roll of bandages that were currently being used for the wounds on Sophitia's arms, legs, and forehead. He had covered Sophitia with his tunic, since her blouse didn't survive the fight and was currently employed as a makeshift bandage. Siegfried sighed and stared into the black sky, not a single star shone through the dense blanket of darkness. He looked back down at the woman . . . no, in his eyes, the angel, that he treasured. Not that he would admit that anyway. Cassandra started to stir, so Siegfried gently let Sophie lay down on the ground, cushioned by dying grass and leaves.  
  
"Ugh . . . my head. . .Siegfried? Sophie?" Cassandra said out loud, sounding groggy as she clutched her head.  
  
"I'm here Cassandra." He said in a monotone voice as he crossed his arms and stood up.  
  
"Where's Sophie?" was her first question after regaining her bearings. She looked up at Siegfried. In the firelight, he looked both awe inspiring and frightening. His lower half was still in greaves, but his chest was bare because his tunic was on Sophitia. His eyes had a misty look in them, but still had a defiant glare in them. His hair was blown to the side a bit as he continued to look down upon Cassandra. Cass couldn't help but blush and look down at the ground for a bit. No wonder her sister had such an affection for this guy.  
  
"Sophie was hurt during the fight. We're staying here so that she can rest. I did some work to set up a camp, but this is all I could do since I was still caring and tending to Sophie." Cass's eyes jumped to her sister, who was lying on a soft cushion. Her breathing was becoming more labored and she had a small pained expression on her face. There was a bandage around her forehead with a small dot of blood on it. Instinctively, Cass touched the back of her forehead and was returned with a painful sting from where she was struck and knocked out. Her concern went back to Sophie.  
  
"How bad was she hurt?" She asked, looking at her sister, nearly wrapped up like a mummy.  
  
"She got hurt a little bit while fighting, but she really got carved up while covering you while demons piled up." This statement made Cass feel guilty. She wished she could have stood by her sister and fought. Cass stole a quick glance of the equipment. Faust stood above all the other weapons; it barely looked scratched from the fight. The other stuff on the other hand, wasn't looking too good. Siegfried's dull blue breastplate was dented and scratched, both gladius were still blunt as ever, but Sophitia's looked like it would fall apart if it struck anything else. Sophitia's shield was equally as useless now; it was dented and bent to the point where it couldn't be used as a discus or a shield. They needed to find a smith, and fast. So far, Seigfried had only found one item. It was a small, compact shield with a spike in the center. It was tossed casually on the pile of equipment. Cass was going to ask what it was, but decided not to. She sat silently for a few moments before Siegfried spoke up again.  
  
"We're staying here for a bit, I don't want to mover her until most of the wounds have closed." He said, prodding the fire with a stick.  
  
"Is it safe?" Cass asked reflexively.  
  
"As ever, we did kill most of the demonic infestation here, and most of our equipment has the smell of demon blood. Most of the demons should leave us alone if there are any alive, the only one's that would try an attack us would be the big ones, but I don't think there are any of those out here. Besides, I'll be watching the fire tonight, you go back to sleep, you'll need the rest."  
  
"Siegfried, how do you know so much about demons?" Cass asked innocently.  
  
"From Taki, and from the Soul Edge." He said simply, "Now go back to bed, you need your rest after taking a blow to the head." Cass scoffed but laid back down again.  
  
"You aren't my father." She said sarcasticly before drifting off to sleep.  
  
O======I==================================================  
At first, when Rheaol re-emerged from the shadows, he caught Takaishi off guard. The demon had thrown away his torn robe to reveal a lanky, but still threatening looking man. One could easily mistake Rheaol for a human if it weren't for his red glowing eyes and maliciously inhuman voice. The demon was clad in death black leather armor, light enough to not limit speed or movement, but strong enough to at least slow a blade or arrow. The demon had also cast away his hood, revealing the face of a rather striking young man. Defiantly something that Takaishi didn't expect, none the less, the demon-man was still his opponent. The dance had begun once again, Rheaol taking the lead by unleashing a flurry of slashes fueled by pure anger. Takaishi did his best to deflect the onslaught, waiting for an opening, but had to jump away due to the sheer power from each blow. As soon as Takaishi landed, Rheaol was onto him again, being merciless with his strikes, trying to break Takaishi's guard and strike a vital organ. During the exchange of blades, the lamp hanging from a post was cut, crashing to the ground and splashing oil along the dead grass. The side of the highway lit up, the dead grass and wooden railing fueling the wildfire. The fire did not hinder the combatants though, as they stood nearly face to face in a sword clench, both pushing as hard as possible, as if attempting to snap their blades. Rheaol's blades were howling, trying as hard as possible to taste human flesh again. Takaishi seized the opportunity of his opponent's serious concentration and head-butted Rheaol in the face. The demon staggered back, but still managed to jump to the side, avoiding a lethal thrust from the Muremasa. Meanwhile, the road was starting to flare up more and more.  
  
O======I==================================================  
Xianghua stood horrified. One moment she saw Takaishi fighting a man clad in all black, the next moment, a wall of fire had flared up. She knew that if she distracted Takaishi during his fight, it would cost him his life, but she wanted desperately to see what was going on, so she had to find someway around the fire. Xianghua started running down the highway, hoping the wall would end. Unfortunately for her, grass had lined the entire highway, and it was acting as an igniter. She dug her blade into the ground in frustration and worry. All she could see were the small silluetes of Takaishi and the demon. Swiftly she ran back to the spot where the combat was. She stared in horror for a moment as she saw one man get slashed across the chest, but in the same instance, the other man drove his blade through his opponent's stomach. She prayed that Takaishi wasn't dead. Xianghua watched the silluettes more, seeing the impaled man draw out the blade and toss it to the ground, which equally horrified her. Apparently, the fight still wasn't over yet.  
  
O======I==================================================  
Sophitia was finally awake, to the relief of both Cass and Siegfried. She had been up for several hours now, confined to her 'bed' while Siegfried tended to her. Cass had once again fallen asleep, so Sophitia just watched over her a bit before turning to Siegfried.  
  
"Thanks." She uttered as he sat next to her.  
  
"Don't thank me Sophitia, you've saved me as well, twice, I owe you a lot more than you owe me." He looked over at her and cracked a small smile. Sophitia couldn't help but smile back. What really caught Siegfried off guard was when she sat up and hugged him. Siegfried hesitated a bit, but returned the embrace, careful not to hurt her back wound too much. Sophitia just smile and rested her head on his shoulder.  
  
"Not for saving me, for being here." She whispered and promptly fell asleep in Siegfried's arms.  
  
"Sophitia?" he looked at her puzzled, but then realized what she had meant. Siegfried just got comfortable and continued to hold Sophitia until he too, succumbed to sleep.  
  
O======I==================================================  
Rheaol's stab wound was gushing blood, but the demon didn't care. This was the first human ever to draw so much blood from him. He knew he was losing now, but the primal instinct to tear apart the human drove him into a rage.  
Takaishi was equally as frustrated. He had rammed Sakura into the demon's gut, but it still gets up and tosses it away like he was never struck. Takaishi knew most demons had more endurance than human, but this demon was pouring out blood from two deep wounds, and it still fights with a zealous passion. He had heard of berserk demons before, but this one took it all. He was also without his offhand blade, since it now lay behind the demon where it was thrown. The slice down his chest didn't bother him much, it wasn't bleeding to bad and all it did was sting a little. Takaishi changed his stance for two-handed swings, since he would be unable to retrieve his offhanded blade. Surprisingly, the demon also threw away his secondary weapon and faced Takaishi with it's longer blade. The fight continued, only at a more slower pace. Rheaol's blows where more powerful than usual, each slash aimed for Takaishi's next in an attempt to behead him. Each slash was repelled by expert guarding, but it left a ringing blow along Takaishi's arms. It was a relentless attack with barely any opportunities to strike, and when there were oportunities, it was a big risk to drop guard. When another swing came for Takaishi's neck, he dropped low under the blade and brought his own diagonally upward, hoping to catch the demon under the arm. It partially worked, though not taking the arm off completely, Takaishi's blade bit deep into Rheaol's right arm, making it go limp and useless. Reflexively, Rheaol jumped back away from Takaishi. Rheaol was now unarmed and unable to strike back because his sword arm was now utterly useless, and his offhand weapon he threw away was dangerously close to Takaishi. Takaishi knew this as well and waited for the demon to try and make his move. Rheaol grinned, barring a set of razor sharp fangs.  
  
"You win this time human, I'll give you that much credit, but I'll be back, I'll remember you." And with those final words, Rheaol threw a small vial of a concentrated chemical mix, causing a large cloud of black smoke to envelope Takaishi. With those few vital seconds, Rheaol had gathered his cloak and weapons before slinking away into the darkness. When the smoke had cleared, Takaishi glanced around. Both of the demon's weapons were missing, but for some reason this didn't alert Takaishi. For some reason, Takaishi actually trusted a demon's word. The flames along side the road were starting to die, the grass all burned out. He saw Xianghua out of the corner of his eye before plopping to the ground tired. Takaishi was so weakened he hadn't bothered to sheathe the Muremasa, and just shoved it point first into the dirt. Xianghua had run to his side and was almost instantly inspecting his wounds. Takaishi tried to get up and retrieve his other sword, but Xianghua forcefully pulled him back down.  
  
"Stop moving, I need to bandage you!" she yelled, frustrated.  
  
"It's just a scratch! Just let me get my sword!"  
  
"Takaishi you're so stubborn! Just a scratch? Would a scratch hurt when hit like this. . ." Xianghua punched him in the side, where a previous wound was just starting to close, and caused it to start bleeding again.  
  
"Ouch! Damn it Xiang, why'd you hit me?"  
  
"Sorry! But you were being stubborn again, now hold still. . ." Placing the lantern on the ground, she covered up his wound with a cloth and filtered through her small shoulder bag for some herbs. She quietly applied fresh bandages onto Takaishi's cuts and then brought his sword back to him. Takaishi let out a long, drawn out sigh of both relief and frustration.  
  
"What?" Xianghua asked as she took a seat next to him.  
  
"Nothing, it's nothing." Takaishi sat back a bit, looking up at the thick black clouds enveloping the world. Something inside Takaishi burned like the fire that enveloped the side of the highway a few minutes ago. The vigor of battle perhaps, or fighting for one's life against a skilled opponent, Takaishi didn't know. That demon swore he'd be back . . . and Takaishi was looking forward to it. Takaishi continued to contemplate then next encounter with his demonic rival when he felt something warm against him. Looking down, Takaishi saw Xianghua leaning against him, her arms wrapped gently around his waist and her head resting on his arm. Her eyes were closed and her chest gently rose and fell in peaceful sleep. She had muttered something under her breath before falling asleep that no one but herself heard.  
  
"I thought I'd lose you. . ."  
  
O======I====================================== End Chapter  
  
A/N:: Hope this chapter didn't suck too bad. I think I'll need to try harder with the "fighting scenes" and try to make it so the reader can visualize what is going on. Sorry if it seemed cheesy too, just tell me all the constructive critisisim in your reviews! THAT'S WHY I NEED THEM!!!!!!!! GAWAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!! MUST MAKE AN EEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPIIIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCCCCC!!!!!!!!!! 


	11. Civilization!

Disclaimer: Ah jeez, no witty remarks this time. I don't own Soul Calibur or anything like that, or its characters, this is purely an outlet for too much creativity and a really screwed up mind.

A/N: Damn, I have seriously been slacking....loss of inspiration one would say....err or just me getting lazy with the whole 'no more all nighters' junk. Anyways.... Yeah sorry about the descriptions, really lacking on that, and I'm trying to figure out how everyone's getting over that mean ole' "language barrier". In fact, sorry for not doing anything writing-oriented for like what, 5 months? I guess I kept putting it off, but hey, guess I'm back now. This kinda thing happens when you got too much crap going on, like failing out of school...Err... like I stated, I need to work on this, try and do some research. As for the nationalities, I know about the tensions in the east around that time period, sorry I didn't incorporate it better, but hell, you got a whole bunch of people from different countries traveling/fighting each other, so what the hell? Besides, who said true love couldn't bloom between enemies? coughcornycough.

**Chapter 11: Civilization!**

    It was a longer hike than Talim expected, but they had arrived at a very large port city. It looked like a cross between a walled city and a coastal fortress. The gates were wide open and the guards welcomed them in with friendly expressions. William and Talim trudged aimlessly through the bustling streets trying to find some sort of weapon smith to help repair their overly-abused equipment.

"Wow, I can't believe how many people are actually out in the streets. All the villages and hamlets we've been to there were barely anyone on the streets, let alone running stands in the streets. I guess they're not afraid of an attack." Talim thought out loud while walking next to William. People were wise enough to clear out of William's path. The giant man just trudged along, sword over shoulder, occasionally bumping into someone who didn't see the big man coming.

"Me tinks me see somthin like em' smithy peeplz!" William jabbed a finger straight ahead past a crowd. It was an open-air smithy being run by several blacksmiths. Each one was racing back and forth with molten metal, buckets of water, clamps, hammers. . .they seemed so frantic with their actions. What piqued Talim's curiosity more was the massive amount of swords, lances, and shields being made and tossed into large barrels and crates. It was if they were making weapons to fight a war. Talim dodged her way through the crowd in front of the smith while William just plowed his way past. Unfortunately, William had picked a wrong person to shove out of the way. The man whipped around angrily and started shouting insults at William and jabbing him in the chest with a rather pointy index finger. William grabbed the unfortunate man's arm and twisted it sideways. There was a sickening crack followed quickly by a scream of pain. William looked down on the man who was rolling on the ground in agonizing pain, gripping his broken arm. Everyone gave William a wide berth after that, and the pair quickly found themselves in front of the smithy.

"Um. . .excuse me, but are you open?" Talim asked politely. Several blacksmiths ran by her, not taking notice or to busy to notice.

"Excuse me? We would like to have some repairs done?" Talim tried again, once again, not a glance from any of the smiths as they worked frantically. Talim sighed and put a hand on her forehead. William saw her plight and trudged towards the closest smith.

"We wants service!!!!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. The shocked smith quickly recovered, rubbing his ears.

"Hey hey hey, keep it down, we're busy sorry. We've got a big deadline and we don't have the time to repair anything right now." The smith said irritably before going back to tempering a sword.

"If you don't mind me asking, what are the weapons for?" Talim asked innocently, prying for information. She got what she was prying for.

"They say that them demon things are massing up again, so every major city is supposedly stocking up on weapons and armor. Tis a great day for blacksmiths like us then, even if there's a war approaching." He said, concentrating once again on his work.

"Demons? I didn't think there were so many, but massing?" She said out loud to herself. The smith glanced irritably back at her while working.

"Listen you two, maybe after we close up, I'll try and see what I can do, but for now, can you leave me alone? I got about fifty more swords to temper for this shift and you talking to me isn't. . . .hey what are you doin' there?" The smith said, pointing his hammer at William, who in turn, had grabbed a hammer and started to temper a sword. Sparks flung from each hit William struck against the heated blade.

"Me be help! Me know how to work in smiths." William said, tossing the tempered sword into a vat of water and grabbing a newly fired one.

"Hmph . . . I suppose. . .just don't screw anything up, we only make high quality weapons here." The smith smirked and went back to hitting, this time with more vigor, trying to keep up with William's rate. Talim just smiled and stood out of the way.

OI>

    Rheaol sat in a dark corner while his master worked on his arm wound. Ever since losing the fight to Takaishi, Rajied had gone off the deep end towards Rheaol, claiming the demon assassin as a failure, a lost cause, and a worthless creation. Rheaol just ignored his master's pointless rambling, the one thing on his mind was to get stronger. He needed more power, he needed to get stronger to defeat the human that had bested him. Everything else was pointless, all he wanted was revenge, to reclaim his lost honor as both Angel of Death, and as a high ranked demon.

"That human will pay." Rheaol muttered under his breath. Rajied heard his comment.

"He better damn well pay, or you will. Understood Rheaol? NO MORE FAILURES!" Rajied seemed to grow twice his size when he became infuriated, the hatred burning in his eyes burned even brighter than usual.

"Understood, there is no room for a second failure. If it happens, termination is immanent." Rheaol uttered, the line rehearsed perfectly for just such an occasion. Hearing such a line coming from one of his most defiant minions, the demon lord stepped back a bit, both shocked and pleased that he finally got a point across to Rheaol.

"Good that you see things my way finally Rheaol, because I have a new servant to replace you if you do . . ." Rajied threw out his arm as if presenting something. On queue, a man sat up off one of the tables Rajied used for experiments. There was a blank look in his eyes, as if all hope was lost, every ounce of his soul gone. He wore a tattered and bloodied red vest and a necklace around his neck.

"I serve my master Rajied, and only him." The man said in a monotone voice.

"Ah yes, such a fine catch, and to think, that idiot Raphael would waste such a good corpse. You see Rheaol, there is no more room for you anymore, so you better prove that my assumptions of you being useless are wrong." Rajied sneered at Rheaol and the turned to leave, the red-vested man following behind him.

OI>

"'Fraid I can do nothing for these, lass." One of the smiths handed back her tattered tonfas after inspecting them. Talim bowed slightly and took her weapons back.

"Thank you for trying." Talim glanced over her shoulder where William was sharpening the cutting edge of his massive sword. He had been working on it for a good two hours and he still wasn't half way down the blade!

"William, are you going to be here a while?" Talim asked the large man as she walked forward.

"Be looking dat way." He responded, not looking up to meet Talim's eyes.

"'Kay then, I'm going to look around the street stands a bit while you're working. See you in a bit." She waved slightly and took off towards the street, but one of the burly smiths stopped her.

"Fergot something' lass..." the smith rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a small bag, "This is the pay for the share of the work your friend did, he said to give it to ya." The smith held his hand out with the pouch. Talim accepted the payment gratefully.

"Thank you very much." Talim tied the small pouch to the rim of her pants and stepped out into the streets and looked around. Many of the stands were closed but a few remained open. Some selling trinkets, others good-luck charms, occasionally a fruit stand here and there, but it was a rarity. Occasionally heavily armed guards would trudge down the street in threes, obviously routine patrolling. Talim could make out archers walking along the city walls and towers that where scattered about the city. The place definitely looked like it was ready for a war. Talim kept walking down the street. It seemed to be less bustling than usual, as more people started to head back to their homes. She rounded another corner when she nearly collided with a guard.

"Excuse me miss, but the curfew is coming up, its best that you head home now, if you're caught outside you could be thrown in prison or shot." The guard said in a gruff voice. Talim took a step back and bowed slightly.

"Ah... Thank you for informing me of this, is there an inn around here that I could check in to?" She asked politely.

"Aye, there's one two residential blocks down from here. Is that all miss?" The guard inquired."

"Ah, um yes, how do you get there from the smithery?"

"Three business blocks to the west, one block to the south at the edge of the residential. Excuse me, but I need to get back to work." He brushed past Talim, the sound of clunking armor fading away.

'I need to go find William.' She thought to herself as she ran down the city blocks, working her way back to the blacksmith's.

While running down the streets, Talim took note of the street lamps being doused. Pretty soon, the only light sources left would be the torches high up on the ramparts and the signal fire from the guard towers. This was just more incentive for Talim to run faster. She blew past another guard patrol that futiley tried to stop her.

"H-hey! You're..." One of the guards shouted after her,

"Yeah! I know, curfew, off streets, I'm working on it!" She shouted back with a wave. The guard stood dumbfounded for a few seconds watching the girl run off, then merely shrugged it off.

OI>

 ::End Chapter::

A/N:: Once again, I apologize for taking so long on this update. I've got up to chapter 17 on the backburners, but they're all rough outlines, I still need to better address certain points for the ahem "plot". Also sorry for this rather small chappie, but I need to keep other characters still in the plot, I just can't have them drop off the face of the earth. So those who like this fic, just hang tight, 12 should be following soon....hopefully, if I can keep my grades up and my laziness in check. See that button down in the corner? You know, the review button? Press it, and send me stuff that I can improve on!


	12. Snap

Disclaimer: Yeah, the usual "I don't own Soul Calibur, its characters or its scenario's…" Blah blah blah". Folks at Namco, you lucky devils you…

A/N: Wow….this fic has seriously gathered some dust. Heheh…erm…sorry to those who avidly were reading this fic. I tend to get sidetracked a lot, but I'll try to keep this one going. It's just that I'm doubting the 'integrity' of it. Meh, oh well. I'm gonna try to just down on the Tak/Xiang for a bit and work on getting people to know the other characters better. I recently got some new inspiration from the new sword I've just recently added to my collection…but I digress. Anyways, here it is!

**Chapter 12: Snap**

"No I didn't Xianghua!"

"Yes you did!"

"Did not"

"Did to!"

"Not!"

"TO!"

Xianghua and Takaishi continued screaming at each other much to the amusement to passers-by. The two had been arguing for a good half hour about whose turn it was to pick where the next stop was. They both seemed like brother and sister, literally at each-other's throats, eyes full of the sibling rivalry gleam.

"Yes you did Takaishi and that's final! It's my turn, MINE! MMMMIIIIINNNNNEEEE!" Xianghua screamed into Takaishi's ear, making him stumble backwards a bit.

"..okay fine, you pick…..I don't see why it's so important..." Takaishi responded in a feeble, defeated voice.

"Humph, finally see it my way huh?" She half-cheered to herself and winked to Takaishi. He just merely glared at her from behind his bangs, but Xianghua paid no heed.

"We go left!" She said, enthusiastically pointing in the direction she wanted to go, Takaishi forced to follow here, grumbling to himself. He had to admit though, it was fun arguing with Xiang on certain occasions, but the key point was CERTAIN occasions, and today was not one of those days.

"Hey Takaishi?" Xianghua stopped abruptly and spun around on her heel to face her friend.

". . .Yeah, what?" he mumbled unenthusiastically.

"How much money do we have left? I was thinking if we didn't have enough that we might have to find some way to make more." She tapped her chin in thought, then spun around again and continued walking. Takaishi pulled out a small coin bag that hung from his right hip and counted the coins inside. As Xianghua thought, their funds where getting smaller.

"Maybe we could hunt down demons terrorizing local villages? Or we could guard travelers from bandits and monsters? How about hunting for treasures, or blazing new trails or. . ." Takaishi tuned out as Xianghua continued to spout out ideas. This earned him a light smack to the back of the head by Xianghua.

"Takaishi, I'm serious, we won't be able to buy supplies if we don't have any money." She said, glaring daggers at him. Takaishi cringed slightly but retorted.

"Oh, so now you're serious?...OW!" Takaishi rubbed the newly forming bruise on his head. He spun around to see a fuming Xianghua. He slowly started backing away from his companion, keeping his hands in front of him as a futile way to keep her at bay. Xianghua lunged at him and grabbed his bangs that hid his eyes and yanked them hard.

"YOW! HEY, LEGGO!" Takaishi screamed and squirmed, trying to get away from Xianghua.

"Takaishi Shigame!" Her voice frightened him to no end, "I'm serious, I'm not going out there," She flung a finger, pointing outside the village walls, "Without food and clean water, now YOU can go out there by yourself without supplies and TRY to hunt food and find CLEAN water while I stay here and find some way to make money so I can AT LEAST have food to eat on the road! Now are going to help or NOT?" When Xianghua finished her tirade, her finger was practically jabbing Takaishi in the nose. He merely nodded shakily. Mentally, he reminded himself not to get Xianghua angry again.

"Okay, now that that's settled, let's go find some work!" She clapped her hands together merrily and smiled brightly, throwing Takaishi way off his guard. He brushed his bangs back over his eyes and sighed while scratching his head.

"She's going to be the death of me one of these days." He flung his arms behind his head, interlaced his fingers, and rested his head back while he walked.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Siegfried helped Sophitia stand up. She had recovered significantly, but her back was still very delicate. They had been stuck in the same cave for several days. Siegfried had hauled firewood back and forth to the cave while Cassandra took care of her sister's bandages. When Sophitia was well enough to move, they all decided it was time to move and find a new town, and hopefully re-stock on equipment, most of the things they had left were falling apart.

"Thanks" Sophitia murmured while walking to their weapon stash with the help of a cavern wall. Siegfried rooted around the pile while Cassandra hovered around her sister, ready to assist at a moment's notice.

"Everything's so. . .broken." She thought out-loud, looking at their worn out equipment. She sighed as she picked up her gladius and watched the now-dulled blade fall out of the hilt and clank onto the cavern's floor.

"We're going to have to find some new weapons, Faust is still in prime condition, but yours and Cassandra's weapons didn't last through the last fight." Siegfried noted out-loud. Cass gave him a rather obvious look, but he was oblivious.

"What's this?" Sophitia picked up the shield that Siegfried had found deep in the cave. It was a small, sleek black and red round shield with a rather large spike protruding from its center. She examined it closely, judging the weight and the durability before putting her arm through the arm holds.

"We should get going soon. This place is getting creepier, if you ask me." Cass said with a slight whining tone in her voice. Siegfried merely rolled his eyes while continuing to put things back into is travel pack. Cassandra huffed and crossed her arms impatiently while Sophitia stretched out her very sore muscles.

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"YOU DID WHAT?" Takaishi found himself backing away from Xianghua yet again. Her eyes litteraly burned with rage.

"I err. . . bet you." He said feebly with a weak smile. The girl gave him a flat look.

"**You**. Bet. **Me**."

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"A scrawny punk like him? Hah, this is gonna be the easiest hundred pieces I've ever made! Plus I'll get a pretty girl too…" The burly brawler cracked his knuckles and loomed over Takaishi menacingly. The man towered over Takaishi, whom in comparison seemed like a child. Takaishi held his ground in his tradition combat stance. He had to admit, it felt weird without swords, but he trained a little in martial arts for the occasions that he might be disarmed. It was after a few hours of wandering around town that Takaishi and Xianghua had stumbled into a bar that just happened to hold brawling matches for patrons to bet on. One thing had led to another, and Takaishi soon found himself in a match against one of the largest competitors.

"Ready skinny boy?" The man questioned, smirking to himself. In the background, spectators slapped down bets on the table. Not many were betting on Takaishi as far as Xianghua could see.

"As ever." The man circled along with Takaishi, both facing each-other constantly while weaving a circle along the floor. The brawler made the first move, throwing a right hook to Takaishi's jaw. Instead, he was greeted by a heel to the chin. Takaishi retracted from his high kick and continued with a roundhouse across the face. The brawler hit the ground hard, but got up a few seconds later.

"Not bad, skinny boy, not bad." He spit some blood and a loose tooth from his mouth. The circling began again, only Takaishi made the first move, coming at the man's gut with a quick punch, which was caught. Takaishi soon found himself on the ground, pinned with his right arm behind his back in an arm lock and his left pinned under him.

"Bah, looks like you can only do defense little boy. Not aggressive enough. Sign of a weakling." The man added smugly, "Submit, don't want me breaking your arm do you?" Takaishi grunted as more pressure was applied to his arm, "C'mon kid, just submit. Cut your losses, you could always find a new girl." Soon the whole crowd was up and yelling for him to surrender.

"…Don't call me weak..." Takaishi said stiffly, sucking up the pain in his arm by digging his nails into his hand with his free arm.

"Face it, you're still just a little pup. You talk tough, but you got nothing to back it. You lack aggression behind those blows, you still have a lot to learn."

Something in Takaishi snapped that moment. Years of self control, of meditation, of thinking happy thoughts, all down the drain in an instant. The man stopped applying pressure to Takaishi's arm. The crowd "Oooed" in amazement as Takaishi started strangling the man behind him with his free hand that he had managed to slip out from being pinned under his and his competitor's combined weight.

"Pups still bite." Takaishi said bitterly as he broke the arm lock and thrust his elbow backward into the man's gut, causing him to stagger, gasping from the previous stranglehold. Before he could recover, he found a fist in his stomach, then two more, then three. Takaishi pummeled him in the stomach and finished off the strike with a hard, lashing kick to the kidney. The brawler tapped the ground in submission, but Takaishi picked the man up by the collar and head-butted him back to the floor.

"Still not aggressive enough for you? You want more aggression? DO YOU?" The brawler was clearly knocked out, but that didn't stop Takaishi's vicious assault. After several brutal kicks, Takaishi planted his foot onto the poor man's throat. He looked ready to kill him with a simple stomping of his foot.

"TAKAISHI!" His head snapped in the direction from where the yell came. It was a familiar, warm voice. Slowly everything came flooding back.

"Xiang..hua?" Takaishi moved his foot off the man's throat. Takaishi watched as the poor brawler was quickly dragged away by his friend. There was a swift, stinging pain in his cheek all of a sudden. He stood stunned for a few moments, then realized that Xianghua had slapped him, very hard too.

"What'd you do that for?" He yelped, puzzled.

"You almost killed that guy, even after he surrendered!" she screamed at him, "You could have been arrested if you killed him idiot! IDIOT!"

"I…almost killed someone?" Takaishi looked even more puzzled. This caused Xianghua to fume even more at her compatriot's sudden lack of short term memory. Something dawned on Xianghua just then. She had a slight hunch, and chose to pursue it.

"You…really don't remember?"

"Well, all I can remember is challenging that guy to fight for money, and I had to wager you because we didn't have enough to bet…and that's about it…"

"You're serious aren't you?" She stared at him in amazement. Around them, the crowd had dispersed, obviously bored now that the excitement was over. An hour later, Xianghua sat glaring at Takaishi in an inn's room.

"So. . .what you're saying is that you have. . . rage issues?" She asked in an interested tone.

"Guess you could say that, in a nutshell at the least." Takaishi ran a hand across his brow, trying to wipe away some unseen perspiration.

"But why now? That's the first time I've ever seen you actually angry, err. . . well, enraged is more the word. . .but why? I've heard tons of people call you scrawny and weak before, you always just shrugged them off." She crossed her legs and rested her head in her hands while facing Takaishi.

"I. . .don't really know. Maybe it was because I was fighting, maybe it was the pressure, I don't know." Takaishi continued to stare at the wood floor. Xianghua tried to look at his eyes, but his hair was in the way. He was hiding something

"Takaishi . . . tell me, come on. We're friends." Xianghua scooted closer in concern.

"I'm not sure." He mumbled.

"Come on, tell me!" She poked his side, but he didn't budge. A few more minutes of painful silence passed.

"Xianghua, how much do you know about me." He asked out of the blue.

"Um. . .well actually not much. . .I only know that you are Japanese and were living in China, for some weird reason or another." She said half-heartedly, "But I want to know more. . .if you'd tell me." She looked at him, but no sign of emotion.

"Thought so." He mumbled.

"Well I'd know more if you'd TELL me." She sounded aggravated.

"And what if you don't like it?" He said grimly. To be honest, Xianghua was a little worried, but she prodded some more.

"I wouldn't care, you're still my friend. Friends shouldn't hold things against each other, no matter what." Another painful silence of contemplation washed over them. Takaishi sighed and looked up, his eyes grim and bloodshot.

"Okay, fine I'll tell you."

-End Chapter -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DUN DUN DUN not really

A/N: I got plans for the next chapter for once! Wheee! Expect to see Taki again since we havn't for a while…and perhaps she'll meet someone along the way (I do like pairings, I do I do I do). Anywhoo, R&R and give me ideas! Ideas good. Tossing me a bone is a great way to keep this running along smoothly, and hey, I might even credit you in one of these author's notes!


	13. Troubled Minds

Disclaimer: Yeah, the usual "I don't own Soul Calibur, its characters or its scenario's…" Blah blah blah". Folks at Namco, you lucky devils you…

-A/N: I keep thinking to myself "Man you're slow on this fic. You wanted a Soul Calibur 3 plot, and the damn game is already out...". Oh well, this is where procrastination gets you. try to keep in mind this fic was started and based around Soul Calibur 2, and I have no intention of including the new Soul Calibur 3 characters in (least not QUITE yet, I could probably work a little with Tira...). I digress though, here's:

**Chapter 13: Troubled Minds  
**

"I'm a murderer" he said simply, eyes never leaving the floor. He didn't hear a sound from Xianghua, but he was afraid to meet her eyes.

"I killed not in self defense, or because I had to. I did it because I wanted to. To kill with malice is bad enough, but to kill … because you want to… to know you CAN kill… that makes me a monster. It was almost like a twisted hobby…I heard some people go bird watching, or collect items, and then there's me, the one who _kills_." Takaishi bit his bottom lip to try and control himself. In his brain, there was nothing but the flood of guilt that came rushing through the breach in his psyche. "The first person I killed was my master… then when the other students found out…I had to kill them too. It spun out of control from there. I became a ronin, no…even the lowest ronin has more honor. There was no honor with what I was doing. Just senseless violence and rage."

"Is that why you left Japan?" She asked in a near whisper. All Takaishi could do was nod slightly as he continued his tale.

"I fled because of assassins. They came to kill me, to stop me. When I fled to Shanghai the assassins stopped chasing me… they were just fine with me as long as I was not in Japan." They sat silently for a few moments before Xianghua spoke. In the most compassionate voice he had ever heard, she spoke to him, "Takaishi, you're not a monster anymore though. You're…well…you." She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. Even though she was reaching out to him, Takaishi still couldn't meet her eyes.

"You … You just don't get it Xianghua. I killed countless of people because it **_felt_** good. I'm more twisted than the crazed bastard who damned our world." Takaishi's head sank lower as he fought back a sob. Xianghua felt helpless. Silently she sat as her friend poured his darkest secret to her, and all she could do was try to comfort him.

"Takaishi… you're no monster. The fact that you feel guilt now, the fact that you're saddened by your killings makes you even less of a monster. You should come with me on this journey. Perhaps you could make amends with those murdered by helping me defeat the 'crazed bastard that damned our world'" The compassion in her voice, and her reason… it made Takaishi think. Perhaps … he could redeem himself. Perhaps he could even empower himself with the will to succeed in the journey with the guilt he harbored. There were doubts floating amongst his guilt, but Xianghua's voice cast them aside. He looked up at her, locking eyes. Xianghua smiled warmly at him, but all Takaishi could do was look at her helplessly.

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Flames licked the blackened sky as a small rural town burned. Bandits cheered and roared over their newly acquired horde of food and valuables, firing guns into the air. There was only one building left for the bandits to pillage, a small derelict cottage at the edge of the town. Thinking all the townsfolk killed or enslaved; only a few encroached onto the small shack to raid it. Before even one could get completely through the door, their heads rolled along the ground, cut clean off. Someone shouted and pointed to the corpses on the ground by the door, and soon the bandit troupe was back in arms, rifles and pistols aimed to the small cottage.

"Give that shack some ventilation!" The leader screamed, pointing his spear in the shack's direction. Immediately a withering barrage from their firearms lit the night even brighter than the fires. Gunshots rang through the dark for a few minutes before they stopped and the night became eerily quiet. Anything inside the shack would surely be dead by that point they thought. A few more men encroached upon the small, now thoroughly shredded shack. Before they could inspect the damage dealt, something from the inside slashed out a large 'X' along the wall dotted with bullet holes. They turned to run, but never made it more than three steps. A shadowed figure burst through the weakened wall, cutting down two of the men as it landed, then gracefully hacked the other retreating man in half as he ran with a swift pivot of its foot. The bandits kept their weapons leveled, but were stunned by pure fear. A single figure had effortlessly slaughtered three of them and fearlessly faced death.

"You have awakened the demon. Now, who dares challenge the might of Mitsurugi?" The shadowed figure roared. A few bandits fled, but the rest were foolish enough to fire upon the seemingly outnumbered ronin. It became a blur as the ronin deflected and ricocheted the barrage with a series of quick strikes of his sword. A few men fell to their own deflected bullets, and a few more ran away after seeing their comrades fall. The dirty samurai still stood among the wreckage, half his armor lazily slapped on. As quick as a bolt of lightning, Mitsurugi was upon the stragglers. The agonized screams of death and gunshots were the only things heard that night.

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"I don't want to hurt you Xianghua." Takaishi said, looking at her straight in the eyes, "You go without me, I'm just an endangerment." The Chinese girl just stared at him, unmoving.

"Takaishi, you're my friend, and I doubt I could have gotten this far without you traveling with me." She responded, concerned by her friends sudden reluctance to carry on.

"I might wind up killing you, Xiang. You're supposed to be the one who defeats the darkness with the sword of saviors... You're not supposed to die. I thought I had it all under control, but I was just deluding myself. I'm an expendable factor in your journey Xiang." She looked at the ground, and then met his eyes again, this time with more inner strength.

"No, you're not." He looked at her puzzled. Before he could say another word, she quickly embraced him. The words he were about to utter lost again in this new embrace.

"Takaishi, you've been with me practically this whole journey, you can't just bail out on me now." She said into his shoulder, "Besides, I won't let you." Takashi looked at the Chinese girl with an odd mix of confusion and comfort. His eyes turned to the ground, unsure. "You're the only friend I have anymore. I can't do this alone Takashi. It's just too much to do alone. Expendable… you're nowhere close to expendable to me."

Takaishi sat in shock. The girl who was hugging him for almost dear life had somehow wormed his way into his heart. Even though he wanted to leave, even if it was for her own safety, he just couldn't. Almost as if in defeat, he smiled slightly, and returned her embrace.

"You win… just this once Xiang, you win." He whispered.

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Mitsurugi stood silently in front of a pile of corpses, his presence illuminated only by a small flicker of light. Underneath the mountain of human bodies sat a large bonfire. In a matter of minutes the combination of cloth, oil, and human flesh would erupt fully into flames. The dirty samurai sat silently reflecting about the dead. The villagers that were slaughtered never were really kind to the ronin, and he was never kind in turn. Rarely would he leave his shack, if only to help defend the village or stray out to get food. Without him, the village would have been burned long ago though, if not to bandits then to demons. It was a mutual pact not meant to last, his shelter and food for their protection. It was the first time he wasn't able to defend the village. In anger, he slammed his fish into the dirt.

Why did he care so much? Why were these people important to him? He didn't understand. They saw him not as a human being, but as a demon. A demon of the sword they called him, not out of respect, but fear. Perhaps that was why they didn't help him, that they feared him. When he lay mortally wounded by a demon, bleeding profusely from his back, they stood staring. Not one of them approached to offer him a helping hand; even after all he had done to defend them. Instead, Mitsurugi struggled weakly to his feet and shuffled across the village square to his shack, the villagers giving him a wide berth. Was it the villagers fault then that they died while he was still recovering? After all, if they had helped him recover, perhaps he could have fought.

No matter how much Mitsurugi tried to blame the villagers, there was the looming guilt in the back of his mind. Again, he slammed his fist into the ground. The scent of the now-burning flesh filled his nostrils.

"This place reeks of the dead, and of demon." A light voice echoed in the emptiness, faint enough to be drowned out by the roar of the pyre. Instinctively the samurai stood, one hand placed on his sword, ready to draw.

"So, still killing, again and again. Are you looking for that cursed sword still? Massacring a small village and its defenders to further your twisted little search?" The ghostly voice echoed again, a little closer this time. This time, Mitsurugi picked up on the voice. It was strangely familiar to him from his travels, even after years of staying in the village.

"They never stood a chance did they?" The voice emanated from behind him this time. He whipped around only to see the dimly lit remainder of his former home. Then the memory hit him. It was that ninja woman. The one that had hunted him during his search for the Soul Edge. The almost smug tinge to her voice gave her away.

"For your information, wench, I only massacred the massacres." Mitsurugi bellowed to the darkness. She had some nerve to insult him; after all, he was giving the villagers a funeral pyre, something he didn't do for his victims. That's when the unexpected happened. Out from the darkness came the demon slayer, but not ready to fight. Instead, her weapons were sheathed, and her hand no-where ready to draw. Her demeanor and attitude threw Mitsurugi off. Every time he encountered this damned woman, it was always by ambush, or some form of conflict.

"Hm, my mistake. I didn't notice the other bodies at first." She nudged her head briefly in the direction of the soon-to-be mass grave of the bandits.

"And you won't get another chance to make another mistake, wench." Mitsurugi still stood, ready to draw and cut the woman in two.

"As I expected you to say if I approached you like this." The woman sighed. Relaxed, she walked towards Mitsurugi and the pyre, stopping only just outside of Mitsurugi's draw range. His arm stayed tense and his eyes remained unblinking as they stared into hers.

"Stay your blade, I have no quarrel with you anymore, and you don't seek that cursed sword anymore, do you?" She put her small pack down at her feet and stood staring silently at him. Very slowly, Mitsurugi stood up straight from his crouched position, though his hand never left his blade. The woman nodded, and smiled slightly.

"What do you want?" He asked forcibly. The pyre behind him light up her face as she walked closer. The dirty samurai tensed his arm again, but she walked past him, looking at the fire.

"For once, nothing. At least not from you." She said, looking back over her shoulder at him, "At least it wasn't by demons, far more painful than a swift bullet…" she murmured. Mitsurugi was confused by this woman. She approached him, unarmed and passive, no intent to fight. For some strange reason, he almost trusted this woman. Every time they had met in conflict, they had forged a bond. If not enemies, then rivals. Now his 'rival' approaches him with no will to fight anymore, what is he to do?

"You reek of demon." She said flatly, her back still facing him. He cocked an eyebrow and walked up to stand next to her.

"And that is supposed to mean?" He stated, glaring at her.

"Simple enough, your reek of demon. Judging by that scar on your back you were wounded by one. That mark reeks." At the mention of it, Mitsurugi reached behind him and felt the scar. Taki turned her head to look at her long time rival's eyes.

"I actually came for one thing… I need your help with something." Again, he cocked an eyebrow at what she said.

"I need to kill someone, rather, something. If we manage it, these damn clouds can be lifted." She looked up to the dreary sky, almost sadly.

"You'd think a woman of the shadow would enjoy this curse." She looked back at him, then stared into the roaring pyre.

"That's what this is. A curse." Taki said, a tint of sadness in her voice.

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End

-A/N: Wow, I sure got cliched in this chapter. I swear, I won't get any more cliched in this fic (I hope). Anyway yeah. So basically the traveling groups are: Talim/William, Takaishi/Xianghua, Siegfreid/Sophitia/Cassandra, Mitsurugi/Taki. Feel free to contructivley critisize this, as I had no proofers beside myself. If you don't want to post a comment but give me some suggestions, feel free to email me them. I feel like I'm not adressing something here, but it's 4:30 in the morning, I've been listening to nothing but Asian Kung Fu Generation and I'm tired. So R&R please

Ciao


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